Only In Books
by PEN.slick
Summary: AU/OOC. The novel romance a fanciful dream; the heated kisses and touches only imaginary. When thrown into a very real world filled with pleasant storybook complications, Sakura and Sasuke start to think: Only in books? Lies, all lies.
1. Chapter 1

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 1**

With a loud thump, Sakura dropped the last of her boxes in her crowded living room. Dust flew in every direction, clouding the heavy humid summer air. The sun beamed outside. Her new large glass window only served to make her house an oversized oven, bringing the heat up to unimaginable heights. Even leaving the doors open and the fans running only moved the thick hot air around in endless circles. It was the kind of weather where, literally where she stood, sweat would be pouring down her back and down her face.

After taking a good look at her mess, she made her way to the small kitchen and poured herself a glass of ice cold water from the fridge. She would've preferred something with some flavour like lemonade or iced tea, but considering she only had some left over take out and an egg carton with two eggs, she would have to just suck it up and take the water. At least it was cold, she thought.

Taking her glass over to the window that looked out from over the sink into the front yard, she took in the serenity of the neighbourhood she decided to plop herself into. The street was sheltered by rows of tall trees, clean lawns and sidewalks, along which a few kids playing hockey in the streets topped off the calm relaxation she knew she'd feel the first time she laid eyes on the place. The house itself wasn't so bad either. It was a tiny thing that she thought suited her lifestyle very well.

Just when a red, sweaty-faced boy swiftly shot the puck past an unsuspecting goalie into the guarded net, a big brown delivery van chugged its way to the space right by her drive way. Out came a large round man with a dark blue sweat-stained t-shirt and a cap with the company logo stitched onto the front. He went around to the back of the vehicle to pull out a plastic dog cage.

"Hmm?" Sakura mumbled with confusion. Considering the immense heat, the door was wide open. She heard a high pitched raid of barking which she immediately concluded came from the cage. She placed her cup down into the sink and walked toward the front door.

"Hello, are you Ms. Haruno?" He was carrying a clipboard in one hand and set the cage down with the other. The barking continued. It sounded like a very small dog.

"Yes, I am Mr.—"

"Choji!" By the way he jumped, she bet he was just as startled as she was by his sudden outburst. He cleared his throat noisily before he spoke again. "I mean just call me Choji." Nervous laughter filled the air. "Um, just sign your name here and here." He pointed with a greasy finger.

"Can I ask who this is coming from?" The dog had not ceased to yap away in his confinement.

"I think a Mr. and Mrs. Haruno sent it to you. Here," he reached into his back pocket to reveal a warm and slightly wrinkled yellow envelope signed to her. "Don't worry, I kept that safe." He gloated as he handed it to her, leaving small and almost unnoticeable finger prints.

"Thank you." Sakura ignored the griminess of the letter and opened it on the spot.

_Dearest Sakura,_

_I know you told us not to get you anything as a going-away present but we couldn't help ourselves. We saw him and thought he was perfect for you. Well your father thought he'd grow up to be a fine guard dog but I found him just plain adorable. His collar said his name was Damien. We'll miss you, dear. Call us! And please come visit, please do. We're missing you already._

_Love, Mom_

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. Her parents could be so sweet at times; they had their moments.

Suddenly, her smile broadened as she knelt down to open the cage. Out came a storming ball of fur running in small circles chasing its stubby tail. He was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Her mom wasn't kidding. Merely a pub, Damien had dark dirty brown fur with shades of black around his muzzle and down his back to the tip of his tail. Sensing her presence, he abruptly stopped and looked up at her with huge innocent eyes. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as if questioning who she was.

"Hi, little guy." She cooed. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hand and with a bit of hesitation, Damien stepped forward and licked her palm. "Awe, you're a sweetie, aren't you, Damien?" With a bark of approval, Sakura chuckled and looked up at Choji the delivery man.

"I'm gonna be heading out." He said with a tip of his hat. "If you need anything else delivered, you know the guy to call!"

"Thanks." And as he set off with a salute, he toddled back to his truck. His noisy exit left the kids on the streets staring as he drove off.

* * *

"Hey, you coming tonight, Uchiha? Drinks on me!" A joyful man with red triangles painted on his face yelled from across the parking lot. It was late in the evening and the sun was getting ready to set.

"You know I can't, Kiba! You and the guys go on. I've got something to do tonight." Sasuke was getting his keys out as he approached his car. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first two on his shirt to relieve his neck.

"Not even this once? You never come out with us, man. You're twenty-five for chrissake! Live a little! " Opening his door, Sasuke looked back on last time and waved a final good-bye to his workmates. Before his door shut, he could hear load groans.

As he made his way onto the road, he pulled out his cell phone and punched in a few numbers before he heard the droning rings.

"Hey!" Said a voice on the other end.

"Finally, you pick—"

"Ha! Psyche! Not here, leave a message."

"Hey, Naruto. I'm just calling to say I'll be there in ten. Make sure he's ready when I get there. I've gotta get to the bookstore before it closes. Thanks." With a knowing growl, Sasuke ended the call. He knew his best friend wouldn't pick up. It's not like it hasn't happened before, but every time he doesn't pick up, he feels a slight tremor in his gut. Naruto sometimes made it hard for him to keep his solid steel trust in him for more than five minutes at a time.

Before sliding his phone shut, a picture of a cute black haired boy with a brilliant smile appeared on the screen. His electrifyingly blue eyes were the only parts of the boy that set him apart from Sasuke. And although his hair wasn't as wild and messy, the thick darkness of it was unmistakeably from his father. Not to mention the prize winning smile. He was only four and he could already win the hearts of any girls, young and old. Like father, like son, he thought with a grin.

* * *

Naruto set his controller down and lowered the volume on his TV. Down on the carpet lying sprawled across the floor was Koji or "little man" as he would call him. The boy was completely out. With the care of a long time caregiver to this four-year-old boy, Naruto picked him up gently and placed him on the couch.

"Wow, that was one hell of a day today. I don't know how your dad takes care of you, ya little hurricane." He whispered as he draped the ever-present blanket over the small figure.

The first time his friend came to him asking for help with a little bundle in his arms, he never knew he'd be where he was, taking care of him and loving him like his own. Of course the fact that Koji called him Uncle Naruto always boosted his spirits. But his admiration for Sasuke was unquestionable.

Turning off the TV and cleaning up the video games, Naruto made his way to the kitchen to fix himself up something to eat. Just then, he caught a glimpse of his phone as it blinked. "Whoops, missed a call again." Checking quickly, he read the name 'Uchiha Sasuke' on the screen.

Just then, his doorbell rang.

"Hey!" the enthusiastic greeting only put a scowl on Sasuke's face. Naruto had an urge to just shut his mouth and cower before his best friend.

"You know," Sasuke began as he walked into the house, "one of these days you're gonna have to answer your phone. Every time you don't, you know what it does to me. We've been through this before."

"Well, what was I supposed to do this time? I couldn't hear it. We were playing some intense video games. When we play, man, our minds just get sucked in there."

"Terrific. When he grows up, he's going to be mindless _and_ he's gonna be ignorant of his father's phone calls because _somebody_ can't do something as simple as flipping open a small piece of technology."

"Ouch." Naruto place his hand over his chest as if he'd been shot, feigning hurt. "You really know how to hit a guy."

Without another word, Sasuke ventured over into the living room where his son lay sleeping on the black leather couch. Naruto watched as his friend crouched down to wake up the boy.

"Hey, bud. Wake up, it's daddy." The little puff of flesh groaned and shifted his position. "Come on, we were gonna go somewhere special today, weren't we?" He gently shook the boy's stomach, which was just about bigger than his own hand.

"Daddy?" His tiny hoarse voice carried out throughout the room. "Bookstore today?" He rubbed his blinking eyes with his small hands and sat up. Now the father and son were eye level with each other.

"Yup, I promised you I'd take you today. But if we don't get going it's gonna close on us and we'll have to wait until tomorrow to go again."

"Awe, let's go now, let's go now." No matter how eager he was, he couldn't shake the sleepiness from his system.

"Okay, bud. Here we go." As Sasuke stood, he carried up his son into his arms, where the child laid his head on his father's very comfortable shoulder, immediately falling back to sleep. "Thanks, Naruto. I'll get him back to you on Monday." He whispered as they bid each other farewell.

At his car, Sasuke cautiously placed Koji in the back, being careful not to wake him. Once the belt was secured and Koji was given a pillow to lean on, he closed the door gently and waved a last goodbye to a smiling Naruto standing on the porch.

* * *

Just as she parked the car, Sakura grabbed her bag from the back seat and literally lept out and looked right up to the huge sign above her head. "Libellus" it read. She knew it was Latin for "little book" and thought that it was the perfect name for the cozy small town bookstore.

She'd left Damien at home because she figured an hour and a bit by himself wouldn't kill him. Besides, she fed him and cleaned him before she left.

Excitedly, she ran for the entrance, jumping with glee. As soon as she entered, her world changed. It was absolutely beautiful. The warm colours and mouth-watering smell of freshly brewed coffee filled her senses. There were shelves and shelves of books all around. Some for the young and some for the old. There were nooks where comfortable chairs were set for those who wanted to delve into a good read and an antique staircase that lead to yet another level filled with more and more. It was far better than what she'd imagined.

Trapped in the moment, Sakura failed to notice a beautiful blonde cross her arms and stare at her. Stopping mid stride on her way to check out the coffee shop, Sakura stared back, mouth gaping.

Then she squealed with joy.

She ran to the blonde and dove in for a bone crushing hug. Laughter overflowed and both girls were bright and bouncing as they broke apart for a better look at each other.

"You said you'd visit me every year you liar!" Yamanaka Ino was Sakura's best friend since who knows when. They'd known each other for longer than they could remember. They went to separate schools after graduating but that didn't stop them from contacting each other. Even if they were half way across the world from each other, they would remain linked together with the psychic powers of identical twins.

"I did! Remember last year? I came for Christmas!" Sakura reminded her. Ino was the reason she even moved into the town in the first place. Libellus was founded and owned by none other than Ms. Yamanaka herself. She offered Sakura a job and who could turn down a little extra money?

"That was _last _year. You never came the year before. You left me hanging after my first real break up. Some best friend you are." Sakura personally knew that her first boyfriend was a joke. And she knew Ino didn't have much of a hard time when that break up happened. She was, after all, the one who broke _his_ heart. Sakura had even gotten the impression that she was _happy_ that the relationship was over.

"You are such a drama queen."

"Oh, shut up. Come on, we've gotta get you trained, my dear newbie." They giggled and set off towards the back.

* * *

"Koji," Sauke said lightly shaking his son's foot. He didn't want to wake him, but as peaceful as he looked with the large pillow lodged between him and the car door, he knew that if he woke up and realized that they didn't go to the bookstore like he promised, he would have one hell of a fit. Besides, a promise is a promise. With no success with the shaking and calling, Sasuke turned off the car and went around it to take Koji out.

"Psst, Koji. We're here, we're at the bookstore. Come on, if we don't hurry, we're gonna have to come back tomorrow." Sasuke pulled him out, careful not to bump his head on anything, and made his way inside. With every step, the boy slowly came to and his vivid blue eyes widened with realization. At the first glimpse of shelves and his favourite bean chair in the children's corner, he grinned eagerly at his father.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look, the bookstore!" His tiny arm wrapped around Sasuke's neck with a vice-like grip while the other pointed to every which corner in the store. Soon, his anxiety and excitement had him wiggling to get free. He wanted to run around and use his legs. Sometimes, he found that his dad was too slow and couldn't keep up with him. And he could feel that this was one of those time.

"Okay, okay. I'll put you down. But remember, bud," Sasuke set Koji down onto his feet and crouched to talk to him. "One book, just one. You can't pick five or six. We can only get one today, got it?" There was a slight look of disappointment in the boy's face but he nodded.

"Any one? I can pick what I want?" Sasuke could still hear that the hope was still there.

"Only in the kid's corner. I don't want you picking out weird things that'll make your daddy freak out, okay?" Again, he nodded, but this time with a fierce determination to find the right book.

"Yup!" Before he could bolt off, Sasuke held onto him.

"Wait, wait. Give me a hug first." Koji quickly wrapped his arms around Sasuke as much as he could. "And a kiss." With a quick peck on the cheek, he was gone.

The tired father stood back up and sighed. "Time to get some coffee."

* * *

For Sakura's first hour of work, all she did was grab a bunch of books to restock. It was near closing time anyway so Ino said if she wanted to be helpful, she might as well take a load of books and get started. There weren't many people around but Ino promised that it would get busier and busier the longer she decided to stay. Summer had just begun and people loved to read when they had too much time on their hands – or so Ino said.

While humming to herself, she placed books all around the store. Just when the place was about to close, she found herself in the children's section putting away the last of the books in her rack. She'd passed empty isle by empty isle when suddenly, she saw a frustrated little boy standing near a bean chair, staring at two books, one in each hand, with a vicious glare.

"Hi." She greeted. "What cha got there?"

"Um, I got two books and they both look really cool, but I don't know which one to take." He looked completely serious and Sakura thought it was very cute.

"Can I take a look at them?" she asked politely. After looking at them one more time, he handed her both but kept the small grumpy look on his face. "Wow, these are really good books. Look, see this one is about…" The two huddled together as Koji listened intensely, his whole body practically vibrating with excitement.

"Oh! And ninjas right? Look, look. There's a ninja there," he pointed with his finger, "and this one's using his sword!"

"You really like ninjas, huh? Well, why don't you just take that one, I'll put this other one away for you."

"But wait! There's dragons and stuff in there. I like those too." The boy looked so torn between the two books.

"Okay, here, you can take both of them, since you like both."

"Nuh-huh. I can't. Daddy said I can only take one today." This fact clearly upset him, Sakura noticed.

"Koji?" A male voice had both of the two look down the end of the isle where Sasuke came walking towards them, one of his hands dug into his navy jacket pocket while the other nursed a cup of steaming coffee. Right away, the boy's face lit up. The boy looked back at the books in Sakura's hand as if asking permission to take them back, which of course he did after Sakura nodded and stood.

"Daddy! Look I found two! Can we take both, please?" he said as he ran to his father, waving the books in his face.

"Whoa, okay slow down. No, we can't take two, bud." By this time, Sasuke was once again crouching to talk to the boy. "You already have a dragon book, Koji. Why don't we just take this other one? It looks pretty cool too."

"Um, okay."

"Okay. Here, take this back to the lady and say 'thank you'." Sasuke whispered. And his son obediently walked back with the dragon book in hand.

"Thank you. I'm just gonna take the ninja book. Daddy says I already have a dragon book at home." Koji curtly smiled his brilliant smile and dashed back to his father.

Just then, the two adults caught their first real glimpses at each other.

_He's_ the father? She thought with obvious surprise. For one, he was very young, and Sakura found her body stiffen and crackle at the sight of him. He was all…male. He had a very boyish but handsome face and she could just tell that he had some definition under those clothes just by the way his clothes draped over his body. He stood straight and proud but held an air of ease about him. It was something most men lacked. The mess of black hair only served to make all the more handsome in her eyes.

However, she hadn't the slightest clue that Sasuke was doing some analysis of his own.

"Hi, I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He said, walking up and offering a hand. His smile radiated charm just like his son's. Sakura couldn't help but notice how beautiful this man really was. She was damn near speechless.

"Haruno Sakura." She said finally, shaking his hand in return. The surprising tingle she felt only served to lessen her ability to speak. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She managed.

"Pleasure's all mine." He answered politely. "I haven't seen you around here before, if you don't mind me saying."

"Oh, yeah. No, I'm new in town. I just got in. My best friend owns this place and she was nice enough to give me spot." Gaining a bit more confidence under his intelligent gaze, she gestured towards the front till. "Um, why don't we get your books paid for at the front? It's getting late and I'm sure Koji here has a bedtime to stick to." Sakura walked on ahead, leaving the two boys a few feet behind, just far enough so Sasuke could whisper undetected.

"Hey, bud, how is it that you are like a magnet for women?" It was a stupid question that he knew his son wouldn't understand but he had to voice it to somebody.

Just as she made her way around to the till, he caught her gaze again and he momentarily paused. The way she moved and the subtle curves of her body had him mentally gawking. It was unreal how she made him feel. It had been a very, very long time since he had ever felt the way he did then. Not to mention her natural beauty. It struck him as soon as he laid eyes on her. She seemed to him like a very confident woman but there was no sense of arrogance. She was like a whole new species of female that he never knew existed. It was like finding a dodo bird, for chrissake.

"…Mr. Uchiha."

"Huh? Hmm? Sorry, oh yeah here." He was snapped out of his daze, whipping his head towards the very person who, even now, distracted his mind. He paid his amount in cash and took the bag with the book, handing it to Koji, whom was extremely excited.

"Well, thanks for helping him out. It was great—" Right then, Ino came through one of the doors and found them talking. "Ino." He greeted with a nod of his head.

"Sasuke." She smiled and playfully saluted him. "How goes it? And hello Koji." He waved at her and went back to looking at his new book.

"We're doing well. I just promised him I'd come to the shop today to let him pick out a book. Figured I'd come get my shot at caffeine today too. You guys always make the best."

"Why thank you, handsome. Hope you guys come back real soon. Take care Koji." The boy smiled up at them and said a warm "thank you!" to both.

"Thanks again. See you around." He ushered his son away, "Ino." He waved, "Sakura." He flashed his trademark smile one last time and headed out the door.

"Wow." Sakura breathed, leaning back against the wall, watching his car drive away. All the while, Ino had a knowing smirk plastered onto her face.

"I know, hun. He's quite a good-looking man, if I do say so myself."

"You had that man in this very town, roaming the streets and talking to people all these years and you never told me?" Sakura could still see his smile and the careful tenderness with which he treated his child. "Some best friend you are."

"He's single." Ino nudged.

"What? Ino, no. Not gonna happen. You saw him. He was practically a god walking the earth. And he has a son."

"So? It's not like you hate kids. Besides, you seemed to hit it off."

"We just talked and I sold him a book. That's not special."

"I meant you and the kid." Ino's mischievous grin played across her face as Sakura's face filled with a shade of pink.

"What is this? I came here to work, not to have you play matchmaker! Geez!" Sakura found the nearest piece of paper, crumpled it, and threw it at Ino, hitting her square in the back. She stared out into the darkness for a little while further, listening to Ino's torturous laughter before she heaved a long sigh.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 2:**

"Hey, Sakura." Before she could leave, Sasuke gently grabbed the crook of her arm. She whipped her head around and found they were closer than ever. Her face flushed bright pink as she felt the warmth of his hand on her arm.

"Mhmm?" was all she could utter.

"Um, sorry." He said quickly and the warmth left her skin but he didn't move. "Would you like to uh," he used the same hand to scratch the back of his neck. "You know, head over to the bay and have lunch with me? Us I mean?" he added hastily, gesturing to both him and his son.

* * *

**A/N: There's the first chapter in my first fanfic. I love this couple and I wanted to see what it would be like with Sasuke as a father. I find it kinda cute x3. Reviews! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 2**

In the dark of the night, Sasuke was sound asleep, face flat on his pillow while his sheets wrapped around his waist. His shirt-clad back expanded ever so slightly with each passing breath.

Little padded footsteps made their way from down the hall towards his room. The door squeaked lightly as it was slowly cracked open. "Daddy?" Koji's frightened voice broke through the air as he stood dragging his favourite teddy bear along. No answer, except for mild breathing. Opening the door more fully, Koji stepped over to the side of the bed and, with some effort, climbed up and poked his father's back gently. "Daddy." He said again.

"Hmm?" Sasuke mumbled groggily without turning or flipping over.

"I had a bad dream." He whispered still a little scared. "Can I sleep here?" He waited some time for a response, but it was as if his father fell back asleep again. "Daddy?"

"Mmm, okay, bud." He yawned, readjusting and this time turning over to his side, Sasuke lifted up his blanket to let the boy in. Quickly, Koji buried himself in his father's warmth and security. Sasuke, being careful not to crush him, draped an arm over the small figure after lifting the blanket back up.

"Goodnight, daddy." He said quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Go back to sleep." And again, the night was silent.

* * *

Sakura hauled yet another empty box outside to the trash. She had been trying to clear out as many boxes from her living room as she could. It was much more difficult when she had a little dog to attend to every ten minutes. But not every moment with him was completely stressful. In fact, watching him wander and explore was very heart warming. Not to mention he was kind of cute.

"Damien, come on boy." She called. Since she started working in the house, he would tail her everywhere, even to the trash down the drive way. She was just glad he didn't run off to who knows where.

"You hungry? I'm pretty hungry." They both entered the kitchen and Damien sat, curiously observing Sakura as she inspected the insides of the fridge. "We really need to get some food in here, huh." He barked. "You have food, you came with it, but I can't eat dog food." She picked him up and kissed him on the head. "Let's go."

Together, they rode in her car to the nearest grocery shop. As music filled the car, Damien tried to find out where it was coming from. He lept from the front seat to the back seat, barking with excitement and sometimes twirling on the spot.

"Damien," she laughed. It was an interesting outcome to her puppy's first car ride. "Come on, stay up here." Obediently, he went back to the front but looked just as happy and full of energy. Just then, she spotted the grocers. "Hey, we could've walked. I guess we'll do that next time. But today," she grabbed him and held him up. "You're gonna have to stay in here. I won't take long, I promise. Don't go killing the car." He whimpered slightly. "Oh don't give me that." She put him down and playfully pushed his muzzle. "I'm not going to take long." With that, she gave him a kiss and a scratch on the head before she left him in the car.

Damien, as he stood by the window, was just about tall enough to see over. His tail wagged nonetheless when we saw person after person pass by. Then, he saw a little boy pointing at him and pulling his father over.

"Look, a doggie! Awe, can I see him? Please?" Koji let go of Sasuke's hand and ran to the car window. Sasuke just turned his head and chuckled to himself when he saw his son - and what looked to be a puppy – nose to nose on the car window, each with a look of fascination.

"Wow, he so small!" Koji observed.

"He's still a puppy, Koji. Like a baby dog." Just then, he attempted to lick Koji's nose through the window and it made the boy giggle.

"Awe, can I get one, daddy? I want a baby dog." Again, Damien licked at the window, earning another heart-felt giggle.

"Okay, we're getting away from the dog. You're getting too many ideas." Sasuke began to lead him away. As Koji waved, Damien barked.

Meanwhile, inside the store, Sakura was busy pulling items off shelves. She'd met just about the whole town in this one store and it was only noon. They were great people and she was starting to get used to the small town feel. No wonder Ino loved it here, she thought.

She pushed her shopping cart along, mentally checking off a list in her mind. The last thing she needed was coffee. "Damn it," she cursed as she looked up at the top shelf. It wasn't really that high but the fact that they were pushed back so far made her a little frustrated. It involved some tippy-toeing and intense reaching.

Sasuke searched for the isle with the coffee. He was running out at home and he needed it. He liked to think it was just something he really liked but he knew he had to have his coffee. As he poked his head into the isle, he saw an all too familiar pink-haired woman reaching up and pawing her way around the top shelf. He could see it clearly. There was only one left and it was pushed way back.

But what really caught his attention was the creamy white bit of her midsection that Sakura was probably unaware of being exposed. And she definitely didn't know what it did to Sasuke. Now he realized he hadn't appreciated her body quite enough the other day. Her wand-slim figure had him transfixed. And anyone could tell she took great care of herself by the firmness of her skin and the shapeliness of her legs through her jeans. Not to mention her soft flowing hair, which grazed just passed her shoulders, looked like the kind that had him wanting to run his fingers—

Sasuke shook his head abruptly, clearing his mind. Might as well go and help her, he thought with a gulp for encouragement.

"Uh, Sakura." He said linking his hands behind him. "Having some trouble?"

"Oh!" She was totally caught off guard. And what better way to get a girl's attention than to suddenly appear out of nowhere. "I didn't see you. Ha, scared me for a sec." She quickly stopped trying to reach for the can. He failed to notice how close they actually were to each other and it caused Sakura to move back a step.

Sasuke reached up with ease and handed her the coffee. "Thanks, Mr. Uchiha."

"Just call me Sasuke. I feel old when you say that." He chuckled.

"Then, thank you, Sasuke. And hello, Koji."

"Hi." Funny, she thought. I thought he was a bit taller than that.

And indeed, the Uchiha boy was far smaller than he was supposed to be at four years old, but it only added to his cute points. Besides, after seeing how tall his father was, she figured he'd hit a pretty major growth spurt in due time.

"How was that book you got? Pretty good, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah! And the ninja's were so cool! They were jumping on buildings and stuff!" He animatedly responded as Sakura giggled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. The next time you want to come by and get another book, I'll show you some of my favourites. Maybe you'll like them."

"Okay!"

"Well, thanks for this again," she gestured to the coffee container and placed it in her generously filled shopping cart. "I've gotta head out. It was nice seeing both of you again."

"Hey, Sakura." Before she could leave, Sasuke gently grabbed the crook of her arm. She whipped her head around and found they were closer than ever. Her face flushed bright pink as she felt the warmth of his hand on her arm.

"Mhmm?" was all she could utter.

"Um, sorry." He said quickly and the warmth left her skin but he didn't move. "Would you like to uh," he used the same hand to scratch the back of his neck. "You know, head over to the bay and have lunch with me? Us I mean?" he added hastily, gesturing to both him and his son.

"Wait, what?" Nothing went through Sakura's mind, not one thing. She didn't have the brains at the moment to breathe let alone listen.

"Well, I mean, if you have something else to do, that's fine. I was just wondering if you were –"

"Daddy, can I get cookies?" Koji tugged at Sasuke's jeans, totally oblivious to the exchange happening between the two adults.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke, took a step back and put a smile on his face for his son that wasn't totally untruthful but he had the look that said 'great timing' buried somewhere under his handsome face. "Yeah, sure. Just make sure it's what you really want. Last time you didn't even touch the ones we bought."

"But those were icky! They had jelly things in the middle."

"Okay, get! Icky…" he laughed under his breath, shook his head, and rubbed his son's dark tresses as he pushed him towards the cookies. "You said you loved them!" Immediately, Sakura saw that it was like he completely forgot his situation with a simple laugh and a loving gesture to his son. She could tell that he was his whole world. It touched her.

"So," she began, "How do sandwiches sound for lunch?"

Sasuke's smile beamed. "Sounds great."

* * *

Out in the beautiful sunshine, both Sakura and Sasuke walked a bit behind Koji who, with great amusement, walked with Damien. It was an odd discovery for Sakura, at first, when she had seen how Damien had immediately taken a liking to the young boy. Her knowledge at the moment was that the only humans Damian's had contact with were her and her parents – including the people they bought him from. As soon as she opened the door, Damien ran to Koji like they were old buddies. Sasuke too had a confused expression when he saw her come out of her car. He shook his head with a smile and told her it was nothing when she asked. Now together they chatted away, enjoying the beautiful waters and the cute little shops along the walkway.

They sat on a bench overlooking the bay, watching Koji and Damien play along the water's edge. "So," Sakura began as she folding herself against the light breeze that blew inland, "What do you do?" She gave him a teasing grin, "besides being a full time dad?"

His easy smile was just as easy as the way he spread his arm out behind her. "Well, I have a – as Koji would call it – boring table job. He probably means office job but it's all the same, cubicles and the like." He explained with a bit of a sigh. "It's not much but it's enough to get by." He gave a few a glances now and then to check on his son, never taking him out of his mind. "Plus I guess you could say it was pretty flexible, but he still has to spend time at my friend's house, more so now that school's out for the summer."

"Sounds like quite the life." She added, trying to keep her voice level. The mere fact that he sat there with her having what one could call a 'civil conversation' was mind-blowing. She attempted to set herself straight as she looked out at Koji as he did. "You really care about him, huh?" It was more of an observation than a question that she hoped didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

With a simple nod, Sasuke looked back at her with a smile. "Yup." He watched her profile with interest and found himself absent-mindedly playing with the ends of her hair that fell over her shoulder.

"If you don't mind me asking," She began, fully aware of his fiddling, "where's his mom?"

For an instant, she felt his fingers halt. "She left." The answer was clean and clipped. Turning, she saw his face hadn't changed to the hardness she was expecting. Instead, there was a kind of understanding, or more of an acceptance that was short of surfacing. It intrigued her, but she knew when a topic was tossed and done with. "So, he likes to read?" She watched his eyes soften. For a second, she too began to relax. His demeanour was contagious and she couldn't help but feel comfortable with him.

He let out a low chuckle, feeling at ease once more. "I technically read to him." He answered as he let his fingers linger and revel in the feeling of her soft tresses. "And he will have me read it over and over again. Sometimes I feel as if my brain is slowly turning into mush," he gave special emphasis with his free hand to show how his brain deteriorated. "Not like books aren't great, but after ten times over, my mind reaches its limit."

His face grew all the more handsome as he talked. She examined the way he sat, slouched with one leg hitched up and set easily on his other knee as the sun emphasized every plane and angle of his face. He exerted this ease that she couldn't explain. Sometimes he could be very intense in the way he stared, but beneath his hard features was a relaxed soul. So the thought of his whole body tensing at the mere mention of this woman that left him and his son to fend for themselves must have more to it than she was allowed to know.

"Anyway, so you and Ino are best friends?" He questioned, bringing her back to reality.

"What? Oh, yeah we are, since we were kids."

"Really? How come I haven't seen more of you around here?" It was purely curiosity that had him watch her. For a beautifully stunning woman to go unnoticed by the men in town would've been completely absurd. And surely, someone would've said something about her.

"I meant to come last year just to visit, but I got a little caught up in something. I did come for Christmas though, but for a short while." She laughed to herself as she remembered something about the previous year. The tinkle of her laughter had him smiling and as he took her in once more, he had a sudden urge to pull her towards him, an impulse that had him wanting to have a taste of her. Her soft lips were very, very tempting. But just as quickly is it came, his desire abruptly went when Damien pulled up beside them wagging his tail madly, a fairly thick but short stick lodged between his teeth, completely interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, boy." Sakura greeted. "A stick? You know how to play fetch?" Damien dropped the stick at Sakura's feet and barked happily. "Really?" she picked up the stick and lightly threw it over a few feet away. And just as the activity was supposed to occur, he retrieved it and ran back to her, dropping it at her feet again. "Wow. Okay, here we go." With a bit more strength, she threw the stick over to where Koji was.

"You've got quite the arm." Sasuke complimented, but his mind was somewhere else.

"Why, thank you." She gave a curt nod with a playful smile.

"How old is he?" he asked blankly.

"I really don't know. My parents sent him to me a few days ago. But he's so small, never figured he'd have a knack for fetch—"

Suddenly, as she twisted her head toward him, she gasped and her body jumped. She felt his mouth lightly brush over hers and her mind froze. What's going on? she thought. Her body was set on guard as she felt his warm breath hover over her face. Soon, the tiny bit of control she had slipped and her eyes drifted shut.

His lips lingered, waiting for her response. He dove in again ever so slightly, but this time instead of petrified surprise, Sakura kissed back, leaning in, savouring, feeling. The hand that was playing with the ends of her hair traveled up to cup her neck gently as he deepened the kiss further. But even with the intensity of the kiss, it remained soft and tender and it had Sakura practically whimpering at the aching gentleness. She felt every sensation flood through her and ball in the pit of her stomach, leaving her completely defenseless.

As they broke away, Sakura's eyes fluttered open with a sort of daze. She was left speechless as she looked into dark pools of black. Sasuke's hand lay still at the base of her neck. "I couldn't resist." He whispered.

"I…That was…" _Amazing_, she thought. Sakura shut her eyes and tried to regain composure. Her mind was a complete mess and it took a great deal of effort to even try and set herself right again.

Just then, Damien ran back up the walkway towards them. All the while, they sat frozen. Sasuke's gaze never faltered, even with the excited barking. It had the same intensity Sakura had mentioned before but now it contained a mixture of daring and mystery. There was more to this man than she knew and as much as she didn't want to admit, she was being drawn in, inch by agonizing inch. She shivered as the warmth of his hand slipped from her skin and watched in awe as his face changed from the once bold and dangerous to the now kind and as Koji ran up into his lap.

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Hungry? You just ate, bud." He pet Damien goodbye before he stood and took his son's hand in his. "We should do this more often, Sakura." She caught the amused glint in his eye. "It was fun." She sat, unmoving, still under his drugging spell.

"Bye, Sakura! Bye, Damien!" She watched the two walk away as the boy waved farewell.

Damien sat before her and stared up curiously. Sakura sat back and stared up at the sky. "What have I gotten myself into?" she asked herself. But she couldn't help but smile and bathe in the pleasant feeling that only happened moments ago. As she walked back to her car with Damien trailing behind, she could still feel his mouth as she lightly touched her lips with the pads of her fingers.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 3:**

"Why couldn't you ask me out to dinner like a normal person?" Sakura whispered.

"I thought this would be more fun." he grinned. "And I'm taking that as a yes."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 2 done! There wasn't much and it's not as long as the first one but I thought I'd spice it up a bit. Hope you guys liked it! Reviews! Thank you very much!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 3**

At first glance you would think she was reading the newest copy of the novel she had been dying to get her hands on, but Ino knew better than anyone that she wasn't at all concentrating on the lines of ink. For one, she hadn't turned the page in ages. She merely stared blankly at the open book.

"Sakura!" Ino screamed.

Sakura jumped and nearly dropped her book. "What? What!" Her glazed eyes filled with colour once more. "What's with the screaming? I was read—"

"Reading? Uh-huh, yeah, totally. By the way you were burning holes through that book with that stare? I'd say you were just about half way down the page." Ino placed her elbow on the counter and leaned on her palm. "So what's up? You're mind in definitely not in this store right now. And," she added quickly before Sakura could open her mouth, "don't say it's 'nothing' because I know it's something. You've been dazing off all week."

At that, Sakura paused and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. "I was just thinking about all the unpacking I still have left to do at home." She lied straight through her teeth.

"I was just there yesterday. The place is spotless." Ino countered.

"It's in my garage." Sakura threw back.

"Your garage is tiny."

"Doesn't mean I can't fit a few boxes in there."

"But you're car is in there." Sakura's mouth opened then closed just as quickly. She had caught her there. "I picked you up today, remember? So you're car has _got_ to be in your garage. Fess up." Triumphant, Ino smiled wickedly at her best friend. "A guy." She said straight out with short and concise confidence.

Sakura's mind flipped to Sasuke immediately and cursed herself for it. "No, why would you say that?" she tried to sound as innocent as possible.

"Let's see, you're habits of fidgeting and the way you can't look at me right now tells me A, you lied about everything you just said, and B, that it's a guy. Clean and simple. Now come on, who is it? Or do I have to guess? You know I'm good at guessing."

"No, you're not—"

"Sasuke."

"How the hell do you do that?" Sakura gave up and closed her book. With a look of disbelief, Sakura hung her hand on her waist.

"Ha! I knew it. That man does wonders to the female mind." She stood and crossed her arms across her chest with a dreamy sigh. "What did he do? I know you. It takes a lot to put you in a daze. Not every guy can do that, hot or not." Tilting her head in thought, she waited patiently for her friend to talk.

"We…went out to lunch." Sakura stated a matter-of-factly, hoping her voice carried out her intended casualty. "We went to the bay with Koji and Damien, had lunch, sat and…talked."

"Talked?" Ino's tone was doubtful.

"Yeah, talked." There was a period of silence between the two. All that could be heard was the faint click of the coffee brewer. As the silence grew, Sakura fought to keep a straight face as she went back to her book. But to her dismay, Ino's gaze had her cheeks heating quickly.

"Talked my ass!" Ino laughed and covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide. "You didn't…? Did you...? You actually…!?"

"Ino!" Sakura's face was bright tomato red. "Can we not talk about this right now?" Looking around the store, she noticed that there were a few wanderers that found their conversation very interesting. "There are people listening."

That little fact meant nothing to Ino – a veteran of gossip and the like in their little town. She knew how it worked, whether she screamed it to the entire store or not. But to save face, and Sakura's fragile soul, she succumbed to an enthusiastic whisper. "You kissed him!? _The_ Uchiha Sasuke? Mr. Hottie Father—"

"Ino, shut up!" Sakura hissed back as she turned to tend to a customer.

The blonde had the sense to keep her mouth shut while Sakura worked. She had a tendency to tap her foot in a rapid tempo as she waited. As soon as that customer was gone, she right back on the train. "How did this happen? Please do tell! You wouldn't believe how many women have tried and failed."

"No, okay look," Sakura pulled Ino into a far corner but her cheeks flared. "I didn't, _he_ did. I don't know what the hell I did but all I know is that—" Her explanation was interrupted by the ringing of the bells above the entrance door, indicating that someone had just come in.

"Speak of the devil." Ino whispered evilly.

As if on command, Sakura's back straightened and her breath caught in her throat. They hadn't seen each other in days and she didn't know if she was ready to even face him in her current condition. She was twenty-three for heaven sakes! Why did she feel like an insane teenager?

"Hi, Sasuke!" Ino greeted loudly, earning a jolt from her friend.

"Oh, hey." He smiled. Sakura's back was turned to him. "Hey, Sakura."

She stiffened, and turned meeting his cheerful gaze. "Hi." She knew she had to escape. The mere sight of him had her insides turning and flipping in sinful delight. "Ino, I'm gonna head over to the back, I've still got a few things to finish up." With the speed of a cheetah, she had slipped away before Sasuke had even reached the counter.

"Uh, she looks tense." He mentioned. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans topped with a plain white shirt that modestly displayed a sculptured set of muscles on his lean figure. "I was just about to ask her something."

Ino mentally shook her head. My, my, she thought in despair. Another good one gone. "She actually went to go get me something from the back. You think you could go back there and tell her to get me some packages of white paper too, for the printer in my office?" Ino pointed him in the general direction. "I don't think I told her that before she sped off." As innocent as the favour sounded, Ino knew very well what she was getting her friend into and praised herself for it. Sakura owes me, she thought.

"Just back there?" He asked as he started walking.

"Yeah, that door right there." Big time.

* * *

"Little man, can you go and grab me that small blue box over there?" Naruto ordered as he snatched something up higher on the grocery store shelf. As he placed the item in the cart, he crossed out the last of the things Sasuke asked him to get.

"Is it this one?" Koji came running back with the said box.

"That's the very one. Thanks, bud." Placing it in the cart along with everything else, they made their way to the till. "Did your daddy say why we had to buy all this stuff today, Koji?" From the looks of it, dinner was going to be really good. "'Cause if he's making something special, I want a part of it. You'd better tell him that too, when he comes to pick you up today."

Koji shrugged his tiny shoulders. "I don't know." And in all honesty, he really didn't. He just thought his daddy was very happy the day they came back from the bay. "He just said I get to see Damien today."

"Damien? Who's that?" He asked curiously.

The boy became excited at the mention of his new pal. "He's this baby dog that Sakura has. He's really nice and he likes to follow me around. I told daddy that I wanted a baby dog but he didn't say anything."

"And who's Sakura?" Again, Naruto was totally in the dark.

"She's a lady that daddy met at the bookstore." He answered openly. "She's really nice and she got me this ninja book. It's really cool!"

A lady at the bookstore? he thought. Huh, well, I'll have to bug him about it later. "Okay, time to get this stuff paid for."

* * *

Sasuke opened the door slowly. Behind it was a room stacked with boxes and shelves, each holding brand new books waiting to be sold. Passing through the rows, Sasuke stealthily made his way up behind and unknowing Sakura.

"Hi." He spoke, making her jolt for about the umpteenth time that day.

"Oh my goodness," she said as she spun and held her heart still. "I'm going to have a heart attack today, I swear." She mumbled then noticed him standing easily, his hands finding refuge in his pant pockets. "Hi." She breathed.

"You disappeared so fast. I was going to ask you something." He began.

Quickly, Sakura picked up the box at her feet and placed it in between them to give her the breathing room that she so desperately needed. "Look, can you ask me after I'm done restocking these?" she questioned quickly as she made to get passed him. He instantly stepped in her way and grabbed the box.

"Let me help you with that, it looks heavy." His tone immediately fell a few notches and Sakura cursed at herself for finding it sexy.

"No, it's not. I've got it. Don't worry."

"Okay," he said quickly and took the box from her shaking hands. "We can deal with that later." He dropped it on the nearby table. The sound echoed around the room but his eyes were on her. Only her.

Sakura backed up nervously, hitting a stone cold wall. Sasuke stalked her like a wolf with an attractive lopsided grin that Sakura found completely irresistible. Now trapped between the wall and Sasuke, she looked up at him, not with fear, but with an anxious desire that scared even her.

"So, before you left," he said in a rumbling voice. "I was going to ask if you wanted to have dinner tonight." Again, as if out of habit, he fingered strands of her pink hair. He found her simply entrancing and, with little to no resistance, leaned down until he was a mere breath away from her mouth.

All coherent thought left her mind as Sakura closed the gap and wrapped her arms around his neck. The tenderness from the other day was completely gone and replaced by a passion that neither was at all ready for. Sasuke ran his hands up and down her spine until they finally rested on her hips, pulling her close. Hearing the low moan in the back of her throat made his actions more frantic as he tried, if possible, to get her even closer. Sakura molded herself to fit him completely. Every cell in her body burned and his touch sent small fires exploding inside her. Her fingers ran through his disheveled black tresses and found the taste of him intoxicating. Her body, physically exhausted by the explosion of sensation, fell limp against his as her knees turned to jelly.

Breaking apart far enough to see each other's drugged look, they stood, never letting go. "Why couldn't you ask me out to dinner like a normal person?" Sakura whispered.

"I thought this would be more fun." he grinned. "And I'm taking that as a yes."

* * *

Being a single dad had its perks. Sasuke, having had to fend for himself and his son, had to set his foot down and learn how to cook. He had to admit, it took years of practice but now, he could call himself a pretty decent chef. Not in the Gordon Ramsay sense but he was good enough to make his son's favourite chicken pasta which, he decided, would be a perfect dish for that evening. You can never go wrong with perfected chicken pasta, he thought as he heard the doorbell ring.

"Koji, don't even think about opening that door!" Sasuke yelled from the kitchen over the stove. Normally his son wouldn't open the door by himself simply because Sasuke didn't allow it, but considering he told him that someone was coming over, he knew he'd have no trouble yanking the door open at a moment's notice. "Before you do, check through the window first!"

And, as if he had eyes all over the house, his son did exactly as he had depicted. His hand was already on the knob before his father yelled out his command. Quickly, Koji opened the side curtain and greeted Sakura with a wide smile and a wave. "Daddy! It's Sakura!" he called, cupping his mouth with his small hand to carry his voice farther.

"Okay, you can let her in!" he heard his father say. With a quick turn of the wrist, the door swung open.

"Hi, Koji." Her smile was brought on by the cute little outfit the boy was wearing. From head to toe, he was dressed very cutely with his open black button down shirt, adorning khaki pants and a pair of shiny white sneakers. However, his hair was just as messy as before. She could imagine Sasuke's difficulty at taming such wild hair. What fun it must be to dress up a mini Sasuke, she thought with a chuckle. "How are you?" She bent down, but was caught off guard when Koji stepped up and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"I'm good! So is daddy! He's cooking my favourite. I can't wait."

Hearing her voice, Sasuke wiped down his hands on the terry towel by the stove and made his way to the door. But as soon as he caught a glimpse of the woman on his doorstep, he stopped dead. She was stunning in her simple plaid shirt folded to the elbow with the jean shorts, showing off her long slender legs and her hair was tied up in a messy bun. His fingers twitched at the thought of unraveling and freeing her hair from its binds.

"Oh, Sasuke, hey." The two broke from their embrace and looked over to a dumbfounded Sasuke in an apron. "That's cute." She added as she gestured to his kitchen attire.

"Oh, this? Right." He said hastily as he smoothed over the wrinkles. "It's a necessary tool for the job." Laughing, he motioned for her and her son to go the table. "It's already set up in there. We'll start eating in a sec." And off he went.

"Okay, let's go." Sakura took Koji's hand, which he slipped into hers easily.

As they walked, Sakura took in the small place the two boys called home. It was very cozy right from the entrance. It was a lot neater than Sakura thought it was going to be. The hardwood floors were swept clean and the modern furniture was strictly male; very solid dark colours and straight square shapes. That didn't mean there wasn't a sense of style in all of it. On the contrary, she found it very attractive and very Sasuke. The typical male home. However, the aroma that came from the kitchen was mouth-watering.

They sat together at the small square table while Sasuke brought over the pot of sauce to the already appetizing set up of pasta and salad.

"Mmm, this looks good." She commented.

"Wait til you taste it. It's not just great with looks." He winked as he went to put away his apron.

Sakura saw that he was wearing his everyday apparel of a plain shirt and pants but she could never get tired of the narrow hips and broad shoulders that were humbly emphasized by his choice of clothing.

As he joined them, they ate with a comfortable chatter and pleasant laughter. There weren't any of the awkward moments that usually came with other dinner dates she'd been on but she figured having Koji there made it all the more enjoyable. Looking at Sasuke still made her stir but in a way that had her appreciate and adore the fatherly side of him. It was a side she found just as appealing as his wild and dangerous side.

There was a smooth transition from dinner to desert as the ice cream was served. It was a treat specially chosen out by Koji himself.

Soon, they migrated over to the couches and they spent a majority of the evening simply talking and enjoying each other's company. At one point, Koji ran up and sat right next to her while eagerly pouring out his knowledge of the topic at hand. He was a very charming little boy. All smiles and was very obedient of his father. Sure there were times when he would get mad or disagree with his father's ways but in the end, he loved him too much to give him a hell of a lot of trouble. She instantly fell for this four year old boy.

A little while later, Sakura noticed that Koji had gone quiet. Looking down at her lap where Koji had laid his head hours ago, she found him dozed off with his even breathing.

She gasped lightly as she lay and hand on Sasuke's arm to quiet him. "Look," she pointed over to the sleeping boy with an endearing smile.

"Sorry, here I'll take him."

"No, it's okay," she whispered, looking at him for a moment. "But do you mind if I…?" Sakura asked, gently running her hand through the boy's soft hair. She had only known this boy for a few weeks and only met him minutes at a time but there was something about him that had captured her heart. He was everything to Sasuke, as she knew, but he had a special something that took hold of her as well. In many ways, she wished she had a boy just like him.

Sasuke looked at her with surprise. It had never crossed his mind that maybe she would want to carry him up. Actually, the fact that he wasn't the one to bring him up was a weird feeling. But looking at her with her angelic smile and the way she looked at him melted his guard away. "Okay," he sighed, and stood.

Sakura manoeuvred her way around the boy slowly and came out with him resting his head on her shoulder. He squirmed around a little at the feeling of being disturbed, but Sakura soothingly rocked him back to sleep as she made her way up the stairs with Sasuke closely behind, observing every second. It was a new feeling, this boy in her arms. It was a peaceful feeling.

"Here?" She mouthed.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, here I'll get it." Opening the door and flicking on the lights, Sakura was introduced to a whole new world filled with toys and books. A small shelf in the corner held a variety of colourful books, some she recognized from the very shelves at Libellus. The room was a cheerful blue will yellows and splashes of reds and oranges. There were even some greens. It was a confused room of different shapes and sizes.

As Sasuke pulled the covers down, Sakura laid Koji carefully onto the low mattress. The warmth and comfort of the boy slid away. He lay still as Sasuke pulled the covers up and kissed his son goodnight. Sakura walked back into the hallway to wait for him.

A moment later, Sasuke was closing the door behind him. He found Sakura looking at pictures of him and Koji on the walls hugging herself – for warmth? He didn't know. She hadn't said much since the moment she picked Koji up. "Hey," he said as he came up behind her, rubbing his hands slowly up and down her arms.

"It's really just been the two of you all this time?" she inquired quietly. She wasn't in the mood to feel nervous, she figured. The feeling of Sasuke so close only led to comfort her rather than seduce her.

"Yeah,"

She turned and looked at him, seeing a despair that was unexplainable. That one syllable said it all. He wasn't a man of many words, she concluded. But he had a way with them. Like she had sensed before at the bay, the man before her had a past that clung to him that was locked deep down inside of him, one that he had a hard time letting go of. How she wished she could do something, wash them away if she could. It was an odd feeling after meeting someone only days before but she didn't find anything wrong with wanting something better for him, even if it was just a little bit of forgetting.

Lifting her hand to his cheek, Sasuke leaned toward it in an accepting manner. With a sigh, she laid her head on his chest, cradled in the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms comfortably around his waist. He obliged by encircling her figure with his arms and they simply stood there together.

"Thanks for coming today," he mumbled into her hair. "Next time I'll ask properly."

Sakura giggled lightly. The mood was relaxing. "There's a next time?"

"Yup." He playfully swayed them both from side to side.

"You sound confident," she looked up at him with a laughing smile.

"Of course. Why shouldn't I be?" he too smiled down at her.

"What if I said no?"

"Would you really? Tell me now and I'll find another fun way to ask you out. You won't be able to resist saying yes."

Sakura hit him playfully on the chest as they broke away from each other, an air of happiness filling the air. It was a beautiful night and Sakura wouldn't have traded it for anything.

"Okay, you have to let me go, I've got a fussy puppy to tend to."

"Awe, already? You can't stay a little longer?"

"No," she said nimbly sliding out of his hold before he could trap her again. "Not today." She placed a kiss on his cheek, "Goodnight." Being the gentleman that he was, he walked her to the door and watched her drive off into the night.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 4:**

Just when he got into the house, the phone began to ring. "Shit," he ran to his phone and picked it up. "Hello?" he said hurriedly.

"Hello? Hello, Sasuke?" He stopped, frozen like ice, face immediately paling in colour. The female voice brought memories of joyfulness along with an equal amount searing pain.

* * *

**A/N: That's chapter 3. Reviews! thanks for those who have, i really appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 4**

For once it was a marvellously rainy day in the little town Sasuke and Koji called home. It was just past what he would've thought to be a reasonable breakfast time, but just like usual, he was running late for work. He hated mornings as much as the next person; there was no denying that he liked sleeping in. Most days, he wouldn't have been as frantic but that particular morning, Koji decided to be uncooperative. Days like those never started out well.

"Koji, go. Sit. Eat." The fatherly order passed through one ear and out the next. Koji was scratching his head in frustration. He was having a really good dream. He had a dog he called his own and he was playing fetch with it in a big huge meadow. There was this fuzzy warm feeling in his body that he never usually went to sleep with. He quite liked it. Then soon his dreamland was changed into a vast city and he was a super ninja, flying from rooftop to rooftop. Why would he want to wake up from that?

He grumpily climbed up to the chair and sat staring at his cereal with a furrowed brow. "I don't want cereal."

"We can't change it up today, bud. Daddy's extremely late for work so we've gotta get you out of her and over to Uncle Naruto's as fast as we can." Sasuke was fussing with his tie, looking for his jacket, and sipping coffee all at fairly the same time.

"But I always have cereal." He complained, pushing the pieces of wheat around with his spoon.

"Not true, you had pancakes that other day, remember?" Frantically tucking in his shirt and buttoning up the cuffs, he was just in time to catch the toast the shot out of the toaster. He juggled it around for good measure to make sure it was cold enough to eat. "Come on, take a few spoon-fulls, that's all. Then we'll go."

After a few seconds of angry staring, Koji finally summed up the will to scoop a bit into his mouth. He chewed on it disdainfully but found that when he hit his second scoop, his dad was just about pushing him to get his shoes on. "Wait! I only had two scoops!"

"Oh god," He checked his watch in panic. "Uh, okay, you know what?" Sasuke sped to the fridge and pulled out a half-filled jar of jam and whipped out a knife. He snatched the second piece of toast and expertly spread a generous amount of jam before replacing the lid and sticking it back in the fridge. "Here, take the toast and go get your sneakers on." With a shrug of approval at his new breakfast, Koji took a big bite and hopped down the chair, making his way to the door. "Okay, go, go. Get to the car."

Koji was already by the door and Sasuke was stuffing his things into the passenger seat when a light switch when off in his brain. "Hey, where's your bag? The one with all your stuff in it?" His son, happily munching on his toast, mutely pointed over to the window of his bedroom. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath, being careful enough so Koji couldn't hear. "Okay, stay here and put your seatbelt on." With the lightning speed only a father could have in these situations, Sasuke headed back to the house.

Just when he got into the house, the phone began to ring. "Shit," he ran to his phone and picked it up. "Hello?" he said hurriedly.

"Hello? Hello, Sasuke?" He stopped, frozen like ice, face immediately paling in colour. "Sasuke, dear? Son, is that you? Oh," the female voice brought memories of joyfulness along with an equal amount searing pain. Too much of his past was in this voice and his past was far behind him, or so he would like to believe. "Please, hold on. Let me just say something." Sasuke hadn't said a word. He wasn't planning on it, feeling that maybe the worst of the world's profanities would slip. He couldn't do that to his mother, even with the rage he felt and what his entire family had put him through.

Slamming the phone back in its place, he stared blankly. The nagging knowledge of his tardiness was now but a mere dull poke. There was no reason for her to call. She hadn't called in over four years. Why would she decide to now? he questioned. His whole family – father, mother, brother and so forth – came to mind and his body quaked.

Ignoring them now would be no different than ignoring them before. He wasn't going to bring them back into his life. They chose to shun him, so in return, this was the path he chose.

Again, the phone rang. This time, he didn't pick up.

He ignored the blaring noise, took Koji's bag from his room and left before the phone could ring again.

* * *

Sakura drove with half a mind to the city park. It was far too early to be up and Sakura found that she could be quite the driving hazard when she didn't get her early morning coffee, which at the moment, she had cooling in the cup holder just within reach.

Damien lay asleep in the seat next to hers, his head resting on his front paws and his ears flopped down lazily. Lucky, she thought.

It had been a few days since she'd seen Sasuke. It was as if, yet again, he had disappeared. There were no more random coincidences at the grocery store or frequent visits to Libellus for Koji. Of course she did understand that he had a full-time job and a day in the shoes of a single parent was like fighting a battle everyday. But she couldn't help the feeling of being cheated into something she never planned on being in. She wanted to see him. It was a fact that she found absurd as it was, but when a man could kiss like Sasuke could, what woman wouldn't feel the way she did? Okay, that wasn't all she found alluring about him, but it was a definite captivating point.

Apparently, that day there was summer festival that happened religiously every year and Ino said it was a very big deal. It was a time where the whole town practically shuts down – no shops or businesses open at all – and spends a day playing games, eating large feasts, and celebrating another beautiful summer. She was admittedly excited, even if she had to wake up at ungodly hours. It sounded like it was going to be fun, plus she didn't have to go to work.

Just as she took a sip of her coffee, she spotted a blast of colour. There was an archway just above the road that led into the city park made of balloons. She stared in awe as she slowly drove under it. Then, her eyes went wide at the tents upon tents of festivities. There were carnival games, food stalls, an aggressive looking basketball game between some of the middle-aged men in the town, dogs running and chasing Frisbees, footballs flying in impressive spirals. It was everything she had imagined and more.

It was so early in the morning, she thought with amazement, yet almost everyone was already there and it looked like they had been for several hours. She was lucky enough to find a decent parking spot just beside the basketball court.

"Sakura!" As she stepped out of the car, she heard her name shouted out by her very own best friend. "You made it! I was wondering when you'd get here!" She hugged her briefly. "Took you long enough." She smiled.

"What time did you get here? The time of day isn't even processing through my mind yet. This is insane."

"Oh, that doesn't matter. Come on," she said grabbing her wrist. "Let's go, they've just started the games up and there's this one that I really want you to try." She laughed. "That's because I know you'll win it and that'll get me an automatic stuffed panda!"

"Hey! Careful! Hot coffee, hot coffee!"

* * *

In the field clad in vintage navy-blue and white raglan shirt rolled up to the elbows, sporting his favourite black baseball cap worn attractively backwards upon his head, Sasuke chewed on his gum vigorously as he ripped a fast ball at Naruto. Standing well enough away to catch the bullet with practiced ease, Naruto in his very own high school baseball jersey threw a relatively slower ball back and braced for the next lightning throw.

They were just a few ways away from the festival itself. They decided to take a couple gloves and a ball to blow off some of Sasuke's steam.

It was just the day before when Sasuke received the call and it still had his blood sizzling at the nerve of his family to call him. Waiting almost half a decade to call their youngest son wasn't exactly his family saying 'hi son we've missed you'. Actually, he took it as more of an insult than a familial call. He didn't like being worked up for two reasons. For one, he knew his patience wasn't the best and he'd been working on it for Koji's sake. He knew he would let his temper slip and Koji didn't deserve that from him or anyone else involved. And secondly, the frustrating feeling was just so damn…_frustrating._

"Hey, ease it up a bit will ya, slugger? I can feel that burn right through my glove!" Naruto yelled across the open plain to Sasuke, his voice drowning in the music and festive sounds coming from the tents. "Throw it straight up in the air or something for a minute." He took his glove off to massage his abused hand as he walked towards him.

And just as he had suggested, Sasuke whipped the ball up into the air with an aggravated grunt.

"Wow," Naruto craned his neck and swore the ball had vanished or simply disintegrated from sheer speed. "That's not coming back." He said, trying to lighten up the mood, but knew it would take more than that to soothe the beast. "I haven't seen you throw like that since senior year, bro."

"What can I say? I've got a newfound storage of untapped energy to kill." He said with an underlying sting, aimed at particularly no one. Looking at Naruto's swollen red hand, Sasuke slumped his shoulders apologetically. "How is it?"

"What? Oh, this?" Naruto fanned his hand to relieve the flaming sensation. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." And it was true. This was Sasuke's favourite blow-off-your-steam activity. And unfortunately, he was the only brave one to do it with him. "How about you?" Sasuke knew very well he wasn't talking about his hands. He sighed and heard the ball land with a loud thump just a few meters away from where they stood. "Ha, I'd give that throw a solid ten. That took forever." Naruto chuckled.

"I'm only slightly pissed off now. Most of it's gone," he slipped his glove off and walked to pick up the ball. "I can't let it get to me. I won't." Looking back at Naruto, he caught sight of Sakura walking animatedly with Ino, only to disappear behind a few stalls.

Suddenly, a weight of guilt fell on him. In truth, he'd avoided her for the longest time. Sometimes by pure calculated evasion, sometimes by pure luck, but nonetheless, he was putting effort into keeping far away from her. It was bad enough that he couldn't – or rather wouldn't – show his unwanted anger to his son, but the thought of having an accidental slip thrown Sakura's way wasn't an option. Again, she didn't deserve anger that originated and formulated long before he knew her – she deserved better.

Naruto had noticed the slight change in Sasuke's body language as he followed his gaze noticing a strikingly and uniquely beautiful woman walking with Ino. Sakura, he guessed. She was probably the girl Koji was talking about the other day. The concentrated seriousness that Naruto saw as he turned to look Sasuke in the face once more displayed many things that even Sasuke himself wouldn't want to say. It wasn't love, Naruto knew it wasn't, not quite yet maybe. But there was something there, something that could be worked with if given the chance.

Maybe then he could let go.

"Hey," Naruto drew up and draped his arm over Sasuke's shoulder in a brotherly gesture. "Why don't we go check up on Koji, and then get some beers." The suggestion didn't sound too bad. "It's a day to unwind. Let's enjoy." Together they ventured back towards the crowded tents.

* * *

"See! I told you you would win!" The large plush panda swung between Ino's enthusiastic arms. Sakura had long since thrown out her empty coffee cup and replaced it with a delicious sandwich bought from one of the stalls. It was heavenly, as she'd describe it.

"That was just luck." Sakura said with equal modesty and excitement. Now that she had firsthand experience, it really was a pleasant event that she thought was a brilliant annual celebration. It wasn't just the games and the food but it was the vibe of family and friendship that filled the air and clogged the senses. For once, suffocation wasn't so bad.

"Pfft, luck had nothing to do with it and you know it. That was pure skill." Ino scoffed. "Oh!" Ino suddenly spotted yet another of her 'favourite' stalls and was immediately pointing at a stuffed frog. "That one! That's our next target." Sakura shook her head as Ino ran for the stall waving for her to follow.

Then, as her eyes trailed behind Ino, her gaze fixed on an all too familiar boy. "Koji!" she breathed to herself. _That means_…

Looking up at the man beside him, she felt a semblance of relief but also with it came disappointment. He was tall and blonde with a beer cradled between his fingertips. Admittedly, she stared at his boyish good looks but to her they screamed 'boy-next-door'. Nevertheless, he was still cute.

But he wasn't who she was hoping for.

"Sakura! Come on!" Ino was already jumping with anticipation.

"You're rather excited, Ino." Sakura heard the man say with a smirk as she pulled up behind Ino. "But you do know that little man here is gonna kick your butt. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah!" Koji yelled with great male aggression, but then gasped with delight at the sight of Sakura.

"Oh, really? Well I'm not gonna play. I'm gonna leave that to my very own personal slave and master of carnival games. I will never lose." Ino wrapped her arm confidently around Sakura's shoulders. "Hey, have you guys met?" she questioned, double taking between the two.

"No, I don't believe so. Uzumaki Naruto," he introduced as he let out his hand in a friendly gesture. At the same time, he was sizing up this stunning new woman. Quite dazzling close up, he thought with a grin. She had fair clear skin and vivacious green eyes that were strong and spoke wonders about her. And her body was to die for, he added. "Nice to meet you."

Not wanting to be rude, Sakura took his and gave a firm shake. "Haruno Sakura."

"So you're the new girl?" he said with purposeful contemplation in his voice.

"That's what they're calling me, the new girl from the big city."

"Well, we only get girls from the big city every millennium or two so you could imagine our surprise when one decided to make permanent residence here." Naruto laughed and took a sip of his beer. "For us towns people, it's a very special turn out." He winked charmingly, "But it's a rarity to have a woman as beautiful as you show up."

"Okay, stop hitting on my best friend." Ino shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "You are not gonna sucker your way out of losing this game because no matter what we're still going to win. Sorry, hun." The mockingly sweet face she gave Naruto was short lived before she lightly slapped his cheek.

Naruto feigned hurt with a gaping mouth but laughing eyes. "Oh, bring it on. Let's do this little man." Koji went along for the ride eagerly, watching his uncle Naruto work his game-expertise magic.

Sakura had found herself elbow to elbow with the cute blonde. Although the game only took a few minutes, Sakura was smiling like a goof by the end of it, winning the battle and the frog. It surprised her how much joy she could get from just being there and spending time with the people of the town.

"Oh!" Naruto yelled tossing his head back, grasping it between his hands in devastation. "I could've had that game!" he stared aggravated at the small, maybe rigged, carnival game tools. "Man, but I lost fair and square." He lifted his head and watched sadly as the frog was taken down and handed to Sakura. "Sorry, little man. Guess it wasn't our lucky day."

Koji looked at the frog then back at his uncle. "You lost to Sakura! You lost to Sakura!" he teased, sticking out his tongue and cutely pointing with a mocking finger at the Naruto, whom was astounded at Koji's actions.

"Why you little..." Already, even before Naruto had bent down to pick him up and flip him over his shoulder, Koji was laughing his heart out, squirming, failing to protect his very ticklish ribs. "How's it like to tease me now, ya little monkey?"

Sakura and Ino watched the two boys with adoring smiles. Something about this town, Sakura thought. It's alluring and very comfortable. Life is very simple and every moment is filled with happiness and joy. She knew of course that there were a fair amount of ups and downs but life wouldn't be what it was without the highs and lows. That's how life should be lived, with shattering sadnesses and unimaginable joys.

"Okay, uncle Naruto! Stop, stop!" Koji breathed between fits of laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The boy's face was bright red with glee.

Putting him down safely, Naruto exhaled sharply. "Holy crap, you're getting heavy. How old are you again?"

Koji wobbled slightly as he found his balance again in the upright world. "I'm four. Four! How can you forget, uncle Naruto?" Four small fingers jutted out in Naruto's face, waving fast enough to make him feel dizzy.

"Right. Well, you can't expect me to remember every little thing about you," He poked his stomach and looked back at the women standing hugging their respective stuffed animals. Koji stood and looked up adoringly at the male. Love and caring spread from Naruto's very being, very much like Sasuke. The reminder had Sakura looking down at the stuffed frog.

"Hey, Koji," Sakura called as she crouched. "Here, you can have this." She handed him the stuffed frog, which he took with wide appreciative eyes.

"Really?" he stared incredulously back up at his uncle. "I can have it? Even if you beat my uncle? That's really okay?"

Sakura giggled. "Of course." Then she whispered, "Just because he's not very good doesn't mean you can't have it." She stood and patted down her legs. "It's a gift. Keep it." She ran a hand through his soft black hair before looking back to Ino. "Come on, I'm dying to try some more food. It's absolutely delicious."

"Sure, I'm all for it."

"See you, Naruto. It was nice meeting you. I'll see you around." Arm in arm, the girls strode off in search for food.

"Bye!" He called at their backs, his gaze lingering.

Koji hugged onto his new frog as he walked along side his uncle in the opposite direction. He was soft and squishy, and it was a gift which he would cherish as much as he did his favourite book or beloved toy truck. "Daddy! Daddy! Look what I got!" Spotting his father by the barbeque stand, he ran up and held his new frog up.

"Wow," Sasuke looked down but flashed an amused glance back at Naruto. "This is cool. Did your uncle Naruto get it for you?"

"Well, uncle Naruto lost this game with Sakura and then he tickled me because I teased him. Then when I got down, Sakura gave it to me. She said it was a gift." He explained. Sasuke's body twitched at the sound of Sakura's name. "She said I could keep it, so I am." He brought it back down to his chest and hugged it securely to himself.

Sasuke made eye contact with Naruto as he crossed his arms casually and watched Sasuke's reaction. Indeed there was more to this Sasuke-Sakura thing than they were letting up. He saw it when he had spoken to Sakura. The way she treated Koji with such affection spoke wonders about her and of the person she was under the spectacular shell she had on the outside. Naruto liked to think of himself as the unofficial mediator that made sure no one was going to mess with his best friend and his son. So far, Sakura was passing, but the day was long from over.

"Why don't you go see her?" Naruto said it as more of a suggestion than a question. "And don't say 'maybe later' or 'no, it's okay'. You know that's the chicken's way out. That's chicken talk." He added before Sasuke could speak. "She's headed over to the food stalls with Ino." Naruto began to walk in the direction of the basketball courts. "While you do that, I'm gonna get in a few games with that old geezer from the auto shop. He and I have a score to settle. He owes me some new tires."

Sasuke stood watching Naruto trudge away. He was right. He could be a coward and just leave it at that. He had a choice to see her or not. It wasn't like he had an obligation to see her. Knowing that well enough, his mind told him otherwise and that very same mind sent his legs walking with Koji in hand towards the food stalls.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 5:**

Koji looked disappointed at the fact that Sakura was leaving before he could talk to her. "Daddy, where's Sakura going?" he asked with a pout.

At his son's question, Sasuke watched her walk away never turning to look back. Right that moment, his heart clenched. It all came flooding into him again, the sadness, the devastation, and the chaos of that once unchangeable past.

* * *

**A/N: And done! Okay I know some may be disappointed at the fact that it wasn't Koji's mom, but that'll come in later, don't you guys worry. For now, establishing this story line is going to take some work. x3 Reviews! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 5**

When he spotted her, standing in all her beauty and simple smile, the air around her seeming to glow like that of an angel, Sasuke stopped in his tracks, catching the attention of his little one. Koji looked up in confusion as he held on tightly to his new frog.

Although the walk wasn't long at all, Sasuke wished he had walked even slower. Thoughts ran through his head during the entire journey. What should I say to her? Will she be mad? Will she even care that I was gone for so long? He couldn't set his mind straight and doubts floated about bouncing against the walls of his skull. Now that she was just within a few feet from him, he couldn't stop the thoughts from flooding over.

Then, when he thought his mind was as muddy as it could get, she looked mid-sentence and made eye contact with him. He gulped as he watched her smile recede into a forced line that emitted awkward vibes. He couldn't quite tell if she was mad or not, which he took as a a bad thing. At least if he was going in, he might as well do it when she wasn't raging about and hitting him for being stupid, which he could openly admit to himself that he had been. Now, he wouldn't know what reaction he would get from her.

The seconds passed as they stood. Her eyes spoke uncertainty and slight irritation; he could tell by the way her brows ever so faintly drew together. Right then and there, he wondered what his face looked like from her perspective. It was perhaps cold and distant, which he had a habit of doing whenever he hid his thoughts from the world. It took years of practice but he found it useful at times. At others, like the one he was in now, maybe not so much.

Sakura stared at Sasuke's unmoving figure. Standing tall hand in hand with Koji, his face was blank, not a single emotion expressed. It bugged her a little bit to see that he could show her such impassive gestures after letting her see the kinder side of him. A man full of surprises, she thought grimly.

But he was still a sight for sore eyes. It was completely unavoidable to feel the smallest bit of enchantment when he decided to appear. He was like a mystifying knight from a fairytale, the shining armour and all.

She wondered how they had stood looking at each other from afar for so long. It was ridiculous. They were both adults. They could at least be civilized and walk up to each other, say the regular socially acceptable greetings, inform each other about their lives, add in a few other small talk topics and be on their way.

No, she thought. She couldn't just walk away without his image, his very being imprinted in her mind. At this point, it was impossible, he was stuck – and she didn't want it any other way.

Ino had been talking, and for the longest time thought she was talking to Sakura. Apparently, as she turned to witness both Sakura and Sasuke completely rapt in each other, she stopped her blabber about the newest festival burger, or the weird garbage man that wandered around the park, or whatever else she had been talking about. She had forgotten already. Watching the two was like watching time itself stand still. It was as if the air around the two had ceased to stir, every atom had frozen. She didn't know what either was thinking, but she knew if they were left as they were, she guessed that they could stand there forever. And that wasn't an exaggeration.

"Hi, guys." She spoke after a dithering moment of hesitation. Almost instantly, she studied the way the too broke their eye contact and how Sakura looked away, not daring to look up at him again. She looked everywhere but at him. Sasuke on the other hand awkwardly readjusted himself to set a forced smile, which in Ino's opinion barely put things back to normal. Not even close.

The interruption was a cue that Koji took as permission to tug on his father's hand, to lead towards the girls. He'd thought they would never move. But seeing Sakura made him want to show her how well he was taking care of the frog she gave him. That wasn't going to happen if his father didn't at least take a step forward.

Sakura noticed their slow advance and panic overrode her system. She thought of herself as a coward as her body went into full disarray at the thought of talking to him. She shut her eyes for a moment and shook the thought out of her head. No, I'm not being a coward, she thought instead. I'm being reasonable. If he doesn't want to talk, then we won't.

"Ino, I'm just going to go check up on Damien. He was asleep in my car. I'm sure he's awake by now." The whole time, Sakura hadn't made the effort to look at Ino. But at the very last bit, her voice died down and her eyes lifted, speaking a magnitude of different emotions – panic, worry, confusion, and perhaps hope? She didn't know. But that one look tweaked something inside of Ino, starting the beginnings of a volcanic eruption of anger. Her best friend was hurt; she could see that clearly, but why? Again, she didn't know. But she had a feeling the man walking towards them knew exactly the reason why.

Ino clasped her hand in Sakura's for a brief second before she made her way to her car, leaving Ino to face Sasuke and Koji alone.

Koji looked disappointed at the fact that Sakura was leaving before he could talk to her. "Daddy, where's Sakura going?" he asked with a pout.

Sasuke watched her walk away never turning to look back. Right that moment, his heart clenched. It all came flooding into him again, the sadness, the devastation, and the chaos of that once unchangeable past. The last thing he wanted to do was repeat history.

He almost literally dragged Koji behind him as he sped up to catch up to her. He seemed to have lost his voice and failed to call her name. To his dismay, Ino blocked his way and he was stopped abruptly before the blonde. The farther she got, the harder the clench held in his chest.

"Stop right there." She demanded with a stern glare. "You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on." Sasuke's gaze never left Sakura's retreating form. "Hey! Sasuke!" she insisted that he look down at her.

"Look Ino, I can't talk right now. I just have to go and speak with Sakura for just a sec." He motioned to get passed her but she stood in his way. "Please."

"The last time I let you talk to her, this is what happened." She argued. "I don't know what you did, but I saw her." She crossed her arms strictly as she lifted her chin in annoyance. "What makes you think I'm going to let you see her now?"

"Ino, please. I know I did wrong. I'm trying here." When he had actually tried to save her from hurt and pain, he instead inflicted it on her without knowing it. _Stupid_, he thought. "I just have to go and try and make things right again," he explained with an eagerness that hid behind his panic. By now, she had disappeared and he feared he wouldn't be able to get another chance to make it up to her.

Ino examined his body language and noticed his firm control slipping little by little through the way he let go of Koji's hand and had his own turn deathly white. But it was not a gesture of anger, more of anxiety. "I know your kind, Sasuke. Your 'guy' kind." She said stepping forward with intimidation. "You have girls swoon over you, practically drooling at your feet. You're like a god, and you know it." She pointed at him to keep quiet when he tried to object. "You have the typical mind of a male. You're stupidly inconsiderate when you don't want to be and you always tend to do the wrong things at the wrong time."

Ino remembered how she had led him to the back room. Now she was feeling kind of guilty. She felt that Sakura was the way she was because of what she did. Way to go, Ino, she thought.

She sighed. "I don't like seeing my best friend hurt, especially by a boy." She looked at Koji and extended her hand for him to take, which he obediently took. "Sometimes, when it's a boy, I can't do anything but threaten and scare. It was a lot easier when we were younger, of course. But we're not kids anymore." She looked at him again with calm seriousness. "Feelings are tricky things. Sometimes they're real, sometimes they're fake. I don't think you're the kind to play around with feelings. That's why I'm going to get out of your way and let you make up with her. You'd better set things straight, fix this. Niether of you deserve to be miserable. And the _tension_," she emphasized the word with her free hand, it's suffocating. Why go everyday with that kind of atmosphere?"

She was about to leave when another thought crept into her mind. "Oh and one question. What the hell going on between you two anyway?" He gave her an odd look. "Don't give me that. I'm not blind. I'm kind of the outside party looking in. Both of you are different. But then again, if something _was_ happening, Sakura would tell me."

He thought she sounded confident enough but they were both in the same boat. "I honestly don't have the slightest clue." And that was the truth.

With one last long look at Sasuke, she gazed down at the oblivious little boy. "Koji, let's go and get some ice cream." She suggested.

"Oh! Okay! I wanna get chocolate!" And they left, leaving Sasuke with even more on his mind than before. But he knew what he had to do. Ino had made it clear enough, and it honestly scared him. What if he screwed up again? What if this time he would make it worse than better?

* * *

Sakura was walking through the trees at the edge of the plain with Damien trudging along in front of her, clipped to a leash she absent-mindedly held onto. The path she took was just straight from her car around the park and she took the opportunity to get away from the chaotic feelings and thoughts. Walking in the serenity of the day, hearing birds chirp and feeling the sun beams through the leaves of the trees made her body relax. However, it was near impossible to leave her thoughts behind with her car and the festival.

She stopped and sat on one of the empty benches that overlooked the meadows and trees, hills and plains of the city park and she found it simply breathtaking. She let Damien off the leash to explore, knowing that he would come back at her command. The carnival was behind her, almost forgotten when she heard the crunch of gravel and the halting of footsteps.

"You always leave before I can ever speak to you." He said quietly.

"What is there to talk about?" she asked in an equally inaudible voice.

She didn't have to look up to know that he was looking down at her. She feared that if she looked, she'd lose herself and break hold of the control she had. The last thing she needed was to turn into a pile of mush and lose her dignity.

"Sakura…" he began, never moving.

She waited for him to go on. But there was nothing.

Fiddling with the rolled up leash in her hand, Damien continued to sniff around behind her wooden seat, fully aware of Sasuke's presence but not interested in greeting him. He was far too busy with the fascinating patch of grass next to the leg of the bench. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to get away.

Standing, she found herself before Sasuke, his gaze intensely boring into her. Immediately her heart rate jumped and it was booming in her ears. Somehow, even with the immensity of his deep stare, he exuded a sort of held back control with his hands buried in his pant pockets. It was like he wanted to step up and voice his thoughts, like he wanted to just take the leap and spill. But the fact that he didn't just do it annoyed her. She was there, she was ready to listen, but he still couldn't do it. That irritation was kept to a boil under her seemingly stoic face.

"Don't go." He said suddenly when she took a step to the side. She froze instantly. "Please, don't leave."

"Sasuke, I really don't think either of us is fit to talk about this right now." She reasoned, keeping her anger in check.

"No, we're not." He agreed, but never moved to let her pass.

"Right, so—" she stepped again, but like Ino had done to him, he stepped in her way.

"I'm sorry." He had to start somewhere.

"What?" Her tone told him she wouldn't be very sensible for very long.

"You know I've been a jerk lately." He took her silent glare as a yes. "And for anything else I did that I don't know about, I'm sorry." He said with all sincerity.

Again, there was silence but it didn't last very long this time.

"Okay, look. What the hell is wrong with you?" She exploded.

"What?" He said totally taken aback.

"I'm in town for a few days; you show up at the grocery store, ask me to go out to a 'friendly' lunch, kiss me stupid on a bench, show up a couple days later and kiss me stupid in an old bookshop back room."

"I kissed you. That was my fault. It caused things to go a little out of control."

"A little?"

"Okay, maybe a lot but I don't regret doing. I wanted to kiss you, sue me."

"See, now you're telling me you're not sorry for something you could've avoided doing. You didn't have to ask me to lunch. You didn't have to ask me to dinner. Obviously it's going to work if you kiss someone like that—"

"Okay, first time was an accident, second time I couldn't help it. And dinner just—"

"—then you disappear off the face of the earth! You don't say anything; I don't see you anywhere, no explanation. No nothing. My mind is going crazy. I don't know what you want or what you're doing. You even lured me into this perfect dinner with Koji! I mean what the hell? Then you don't say anything to me for weeks." She shoved at him accusingly, waiting for his explanation.

"I had something to deal with."

"That's what they all say. One minute they're kissing your brains out, the next they're off somewhere else 'dealing with something' so they don't have time for you. Usually people have the common curtesy to tell people with they're not interested. Of course I'm going to start thinking like that because why else would you go kissing someone randomly if you didn't like them?" She huffed frustratedly. "I am _not _going to be played into something I didn't want to be in. If that's how this is, we stop this now."

"Wait, hold on." She had sped past him, stomping off towards her car.

"No, I'm done—"

"I'm not." He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. He crushed his mouth onto hers, stopping her words from forming.

She had meant to push, she had meant to shove. And for a moment she tried. She had meant to scream at the top of her lungs and slap him across the face with an angry yell. But all was lost in the feeling of his touch. The passion ensued as she melted into his arms, her hands running up the back of his neck, causing him to shiver in response. All her frustration was channelled into the kiss. He quickly scraped his teeth along her bottom lip, causing her to open in shock, but she found that even the feeling of shock didn't last as he drowned her in an overwhelming sensation of pleasure that liquefied her anger. He didn't care what she thought right then, he didn't care what would happen after. All he thought of was the feeling of his tongue battling with hers, the feeling of her soft skin under the pads of his fingers, the way her body shaped to fit his.

When they pulled away, a thin space to breathe between them, he meant to speak, to apologize for being a jerk yet again. But she shook her head and drew him back in.

He ventured to the hem of her shirt, sliding his hands under ever so much, feeling her shudder at his touch. A moan was elicited by the pink-haired beauty as he pushed his hands up the side of her ribs grazing the underside of her breasts. The fire in him swelled.

They were lost in a fervent battle as they made for the bench. Something about kissing her stupid on a bench seemed fitting and oddly familiar. But just as she pulled him down, he rapped his shin on the sharp corner on the bench.

"Fuck!" He hissed, catching himself with the arms he placed on either side of Sakura's head, being careful not to crush her under his weight as he shut his eyes tight in pain.

"What? Oh. God. Shit. Sorry. What happened?" Panting as she laid flat on the bench looking up at Sasuke who was equally out of breath.

"Slammed my shin on the stupid corner. Damn it, that hurt." He opened his eyes to stare down at Sakura.

She took a moment to catch her breath. "What are we doing?" It was a good question.

"Well, right about now, I'm forgetting about my pounding shin and thinking about continuing that thing we were doing." He lowered to kiss her again, moving from her mouth to her jaw line, down from the sensitive part just below her ear to the base of her neck.

It was hard to focus, she had to admit. "Sasuke, wait."

"Mhmm?" He trailed feathery kisses along her collarbone as he let a hand brush across her stomach. She trembled and moved under him subconsciously in that sensual way a woman did that drew men in, causing them to teeter over the brink of control and sanity.

"We were arguing. We can't get sidetracked," she gulped, stopping moan from escaping as she felt him lightly bite her shoulder.

"Sure we can," he mumbled over her skin as he brought his gaze back to hers. "We can still argue and do this at the same time." But to his dismay, she laid a hand on his chest to push up him. She managed to get them sitting, giving her time to clear her mind.

"I hate how you can do that."

"We didn't even try."

"No, you idiot," she couldn't fight the smile that played on her lips. "Not that. I meant this." She gestured to their closeness. "One minute I'm about to rip your head off and the next, we're doing 'this'." She stood to get out of his reach before she was hauled back into a second attempt on the bench.

"I want you," she started as she went and picked up the leash she totally didn't remember dropping, "and you want me. It's fair to say that's what this is." She turned to see him stand. "Don't," she pointed to stop him from moving any closer.

"Well you said so yourself. We want each other. The truth is spoken."

"But I still stand by what I said earlier. I can't deal with 'this'—" she fanned her hand between them, "—if you're not going to be reasonable. I care about you and Koji, more than I thought I would in the short time we've known each other, but I don't want to have to be put back into that and then worthlessly dropped back out. I don't know what's going on and that makes me scared."

"You're not worthless." He spoke as he closed the distance. There was no stopping his advance it seemed.

"Well, I felt pretty worthless at the time."

"I'm sorry. I mean it. Give me a chance to make it up to you." He took her face gently between his hands. "Let me treat you the way I should be treating you. Let me show you what you should really be feeling."

"I can't."

"One date. If that doesn't do it, then it's done. Say yes." He whispered as he brushed his lips over hers.

"No."

"Yes." He kissed her lightly again.

"No…"

And again.

"I really, really hate you." She breathed before she kissed him back.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 6:**

"You know what'll happen if you kiss me now." He stepped a tad bit closer, leaving marginal room between them, never looking away. The trance was impossible to break. "And you know that neither of us will be able to take it back." Her voice grew quieter and quieter as the seconds passed. Again she felt trapped between him and the hard surface behind her. Déjà vu. "Once you start, there's no going back. If we do this, there won't be time to stop and think. If this is it, this is it." she swallowed shakily.

Silence ensued as they stood barely breathing. Sakura could hear her heart pounded rapidly in her ears. She was nervous, excited, scared. Too many emotions filled her and she didn't know what to do with them.

His voice was almost inaudible as he spoke. "We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. Right now, it's just you and me."

He closed the thin gap with a smooth simple kiss.

* * *

**A/N:** **End of another chapter! This one took long. I had a bit of writers block -___- i rewrote parts of a it a few times but i think it turned out well, don't you? Okay giving you guys a warning now, i'm not much of a lemon writer, like the really kinky stuff. I just can't do it x3 but i might be writing some lemon stuff later. They're probably lime-ish rather than lemon but same diff. i still need to give the warning. Hope you guys enjoyed! Till next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 6**

With a whistle of approval, Naruto looked at Sasuke. "So I take it tonight's special?"

"Yup, that's what I'm going for." Sasuke finished buttoning up the cuffs of his shirt and was now slipping on his suit jacket, looking at the mirror.

With crossed arms, Naruto scanned from head to toe. The jacket down to the classic black Oxford shoes screamed expensive, but the button down shirt he had lent him added the casual touch. He looked, by men's standards, very handsome. "This look works for you, man. Why don't you ever pull out the expensive stuff for work? You'd give Kiba a run for his money in that suit."

"It's the only expensive thing I've got. Why wear it out when it looks good every now and then? It wouldn't have the same affect." He adjusted his shirt to the jacket to make it comfortable and attractive.

"Oh, come on. You've probably got more than just that."

"Nope, this is it."

"Well, when you moved out you should've grabbed a couple more things, I mean really."

"That's my parent's stuff, not mine. I only took the suit because I might need it for certain things, like today for example. Other than that, I'm doing just fine on my own. It's a good investment. You should get one for yourself. You never know when you'll need one."

"Yeah, well that's one of the things you should've grabbed for me before you moved here. You had tons of upmarket pricey stuff. You could've slipped another suit just for me, your best friend. But you didn't. How inconsiderate of you, seriously." He said blandly, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You could've even gotten me one of your stupidly expensive cars. You had like eight to spare."

"Eight?"

"Okay, if you weren't going to give me a car, you could've at least bought me a house. I had to buy this sucker—" he waved his arms to the building around him, "—all on my own when you could've just given it to me as a gift. Shame on you." Naruto was laughing half way through his rant.

"I'm not married to you. No way in hell were you going to get a car from me, let alone a house." With a chuckle, Sasuke turned and gestured to his attire. "Good?"

"Good."

"Okay, I've gotta head out." The silver watch he wore glimmered in the light.

Naruto gave yet another whistle of approval. "Screw the cars. Maybe you could just give me that shiny thingamajig that says Rolex."

As Sasuke sped downstairs to say goodbye to Koji, he yelled out behind him with a laugh. "Dream on."

* * *

The evening summer breeze blew lightly into Sakura's room through the open window.

She stood in front of her mirror applying the necessary means that made women shine. It was interesting to see how a bit of make-up and a few trinkets of jewellery here and there transformed a woman into something beautiful. And examining herself, she thought she looked pretty damn good. Along with the short stunning red halter dress she wore impressively, she had a pair of sexy black ankle lace heels that accentuated her slender legs. She styled an up-do that, in a messy softly-curled heap atop her head, made her look sassy yet sophisticated. If she was going to go out, why not look good, right?

As she adjusted one of her earrings, she moved from her bedroom over to the bathroom to grab the other she had left by accident. Then the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Quickly putting on the other earring, she sped downstairs to her front door.

"You look gorgeous!" Ino squealed in girlish delight as she saw her strikingly good-looking best friend show off her outfit. "You always do. When do you not?" Closing the door behind her, she turned with a mischievous smile. "You are obliged to tell me every single detail from the time you left me standing all by myself in front of Mr. Hunk Dad himself to right this very minute. You have five seconds to decide whether you'll tell me or not. Consequence: I fire you."

"Wait, that's not fair—"

"Five." She held out an open palm, indicating that she would be visually counting down.

"But I didn't even—"

"Four."

"We talked, I raged, he kissed me again, nothing new."

"Nu-uh. You're lying. I can tell. Three."

"Oh my god," Sakura shook her head. Grabbing her friend's wrist, she dragged her up the steps toward the bedroom. "Stay here and make yourself useful. Put some of my clothes back in the closet while I fix up in the bathroom."

"What is there to fix up? You look perfect." Nevertheless, Ino picked up hangers of clothing to set back in the small closet. "And you're two seconds away from getting fired."

"Bitch." Sakura's laugh echoed from the bathroom. "Some boss you are."

"I use every – and all – resources available to me to get the information I want."

"Scratch that. You're a smug, self-righteous, know-it-all bitch. Shall I go on?" Sakura walked back into the room with freshly applied lip gloss.

"Oh, hot. I like." She gestured to her lips with appraisal. "Now tell."

"Well," she began, "we've never had a problem talking about things like this with each other before, right?"

"Right."

"A guy shouldn't be this hard to talk about. Now that Sasuke's the subject, it's gotten harder."

"Goes to show how life changing this man really is. Now stop stalling."

"Okay, okay. I was just putting it out there. On that note," she continued as she sat on the bed where Ino took refuge after finishing her closet task, "talking about it should be a little easier now that it's been voiced. I mean we've talked sex and it was never a probl—"

"You what?" The sharp yelp made Sakura jump.

"No! I was just saying we're comfortable talking to each other about it."

"Aw, boo! I thought I was going to get something juicy to keep in my reservoir of small town gossip. Way to crash it."

"Oh, shut up."

"What? You've had relationships before, I have. We're not stupid with sex. And the fact that it was _the_ Uchiha Sasuke you supposedly had sex with would've made top town news on my list. Not like I was going to blabber about it deliberately or anything but news spreads. You know how it is."

"Anyways," Sakura's voice was acutely clipped, "I was mad that day. I mean you knew right?"

"Oh-oh." Ino crossed her legs, "Anger. Always a good story starter."

"So I eventually blew up on him. It was inevitable either way, really. I was planning on blowing up later with more finesse but of course that never happened." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "It involved some arguing and accusing, and when I was storming off back to my car, he yanks me into this mind-blowing, body-melting, tingle-up-your-spine kiss."

"Wait, how is it that you get all the fun stuff while I'm stuck without the fun, always."

"I would call it luck." She picked up a throw pillow from off her bed and held it.

"Hun, don't shove luck in my face. Luck is not exactly a friend of mine. Not even an acquaintance really."

"Or I'm just much more attractive." She joked.

"Ha, very funny."

"So, after that...well actually that kiss lead up to...yeah." She stopped and stood, still hugging the pillow, thinking.

"Lead to? To what?"

She bit her lip. "It involved a bit of a bench, some swearing."

"You said you didn't do it with him! Liar! A bench? Really?"

"I didn't!" She threw it at Ino half-heartedly. "I was close, _too_ close to losing it though, I'll give him that. And he wasn't helping at all." Memories of his lips on hers shot through her system. "You'd think we'd have more sense, more decency than to be even remotely close to doing it on a bench in the middle of a park."

"I'm thinking hot and steamy."

"Partially. The other half of me was screaming 'What the hell is going on?'"

"I would be too hun, but not everything needs to be answered right away. Or at all, depending on the question, and/or situation." The naughty glint in Ino's eye had Sakura shaking her head, grinning.

"You're hopeless, you know that?"

"I take pride in the fact, yes."

Just then, the doorbell rang for the second time that night and they both knew exactly who would be standing on the doorstep.

Making their way down, before parting at the base of the steps, Ino sent Sakura a wink. "Should I just take Damien to my place? Babysitting is still babysitting, no matter where it is. By then, you'd have the house to yourselves and—"

"No, Ino. Stop it." The hushed command carried across the room as she made for the door.

Opening it, she found satisfaction in the look he gave her. It was exactly what she'd been going for. A man dumbstruck with awe. Perfect.

She couldn't help but smile which, in Sasuke's opinion, made her all the more radiant. "You look beautiful."

Doing the once over, Sakura noticed that he wasn't too bad himself. Sporting all black from the sharp jacket to the partly opened button down shirt to the trim slacks and shiny shoes. He looked very handsome indeed. And he carried a bouquet of flowers, all of different kinds, expertly arranged to be eye-catching. Handsome and sweet, she thought.

"These are for you," he motioned for her to take the flowers which she happily obliged.

"Thank you, they're perfect." She opened the door wider to welcome him in. "Come on in. I'll just put these in water."

As he stepped in past Sakura, Ino popped her head in from the living room, Damien in hand, staring at the two. "Oh my god," she breathed, "It's like I stepped into a fairytale; the princess and the prince standing right before my eyes, minus the outrageously huge gowns and the white stallion of course. Anyway, you two look amazing." She watched as both chuckled nervously, blushing like a pair of teenagers. "Oh come on, you both know you're stupidly attractive. I want a prince." She pouted. "Jealous, very jealous."

"Ino, be nice while I put these in the kitchen." And again, Sakura fled to leave Ino and Sasuke alone. The last time this happened, he got a good yelling at, so he wasn't feeling too confident at all with her standing there.

"When I said 'go make up with her', I didn't mean 'jump her on a park bench'." She laughed quietly.

"I—what? She told you?"

"Of course, hello. Me, best friend?" She pointed to herself with her free hand.

"Yeah, well I—it's just we—"

"No need to explain your manly urges. I'm old enough to know."

Sasuke shut his mouth for a beat. He pocketed his hands, which he often did when didn't know what to do with them. "You're taking it well." He pointed out curiously.

"She's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle a little bit of tumbling, a few bruises here and there." She heard Sakura walking back. "But you better remember what I said the other day." She eyed him strictly. "All that heart on the line stuff? Yeah I wasn't kidding. So if you keep that in mind, maybe I won't have to cut your balls of in your sleep, 'kay?" The sweet smile was just as deadly as a bullet to the chest. Sasuke inaudibly swallowed the nervous lump in his throat.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." Bag in hand and keys ready, Sakura walked in on an oddly stiff Sasuke. "Ino, I said to be nice."

"I was!" The fake innocence was laid on thickly.

"Yeah, okay." She shook her head with a laugh and gave Ino a quick hug.

"Have fun kids." Ino had her eyes burning holes into Sasuke's back, which in turn, he felt pierce for pierce.

* * *

Dinner had been majestically magnificent. When she'd first laid eyes on the restaurant, it took her breath away. The way the ambiance whispered romance and the décor proudly displayed elegance made her feel as if she was in Paris or Rome, anywhere but the small town she now called home. Everyone was dressed smartly, sitting in the dimly lit room as the clanking of plates and utensil silently echoed underneath the light murmur of conversation.

When they entered, Sasuke had noticed the ogling stares that were directed at Sakura but at him with envying glares. He grinned with pride at the sorry suckers who had to witness him draw her near at the waist and have her smile and return the gesture. And of course, he never missed the adoring glances that some women made while others glowered at her presence. It wasn't like he didn't notice the looks he was getting, but Sakura was the center of attention that night by far, and he was proud to be the one with her.

They'd gone through the meal with conversations filled with laughter, praise, and surprised enlightenment. Trivial facts so obliviously hidden from the world and each other were then spoken of smugly; one always trying to overdo the other's secreted stories. It was a night of relaxed company enjoyment that sped by much too fast for their liking.

Now, they found themselves walking along the sidewalk the long way back to the car. The stores were just about closing and the shop lights were shutting off one after the other, leaving only street lamps to illuminate their path. But the night was still alive as couples who had the same idea they did, walked the pathway as well, giving each pair space for their own privacy. It was a beautiful night, as it always was when they were together.

"Favourite dessert." He asked, continuing their little question and answer game from the restaurant.

"Hmm, strawberry cheesecake is definitely up there with your good old chocolate." Her eyes closed, imagining the sweet delights. "But chocolate is only for emergencies so I'd go with the cheesecake."

For a split second, he gave her a look of confusion, but almost immediately, he got the picture. "Ah right, girl things."

With a cheerful laugh, she nodded. "Yes, girl things. What about you?"

"Well, courtesy of my sweet-toothed little boy, I'd taken a liking to brownies and ice cream. You take some heated up brownies and dump vanilla ice cream on it. It's crazy good." He used his hands to emphasize his point.

"Crazy good?"

"Again, first words that came to mind. Don't blame me." He chuckled. "Next question."

She thought for a moment, finger on her chin. "Favourite pastime."

Sasuke walked hanging his head low in concentration. "I'd say reading. I've done a lot of it for Koji but I keep forgetting the times I read for myself too."

"You read for leisure? Here I thought only bedtime stories were your thing." She smiled at him, "I love to read."

"You're one of those 'I read ten books in the summer' types of people, huh? I'm betting an two hours a day non-stop."

She shook her head with a thoughtful expression. "More than, I'm pretty sure."

"Wow, I'm surprised you don't have glasses."

She pointed to her eyes. "Contacts." Then she continued on with fervour with the topic at hand. "I love any kind of book. Everything from the land of fairytales to the gruesome pits of crime and mystery to Shakespeare, I'll read."

"I would put Shakespeare under impossible-to-read literature rather than a regular day book."

"It's beautiful when you get to really reading it and understanding it."

"I was done with Shakespeare in high school," he smirked, "and that's where I'm going to leave it."

"Suit yourself. You're missing out." She gave him a half laugh.

Walking side by side, Sasuke spared yet another glance at Sakura. He could never get over the fact how truly beautiful she was, now and always. He felt as if she wasn't there, like she was something untouchable by the sheer beauty she held and the grace with which she owned that beauty. He slid his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers, reassuring himself that she was in fact and that she had chosen to be with him that night. He wasn't dreaming it all up.

The touch caught her attention, had her looking down at their hands, and had her thinking that they fit so perfectly together. It was comfortable and easy to be with him. Looking up with a lazy curve at the lip, she squeezed his hand as he playfully swayed their hands to and fro. The stars were glorious to behold. In a town with so little light and plenty of land, the stars were able to shine forth, enlightening the whole sky.

The car was in sight and both knew the night was almost over.

"Oh hey, it's Koji's birthday next week. I meant to tell you earlier but it slipped my mind."

She turned, thrilled. "Really?"

"After doing it year after year, it starts to get easier to organize and clean but it wouldn't hurt to have a few helping hands."

"So I take it I'm invited?"

"Oh no, I'm just telling you this because I want you to steer clear of my house next week." He let the laughter rumble in his chest as she pinched his arm. "There are going to be rampant little kids running around my yard, I wouldn't want you getting hurt." He smirked and she huffed, placing a light kiss on the knuckle of her hand in his. "Yes, I want you to come. I'm sure Koji would love it if you came too."

With slight enjoyment at the moment, she eyed him teasingly. "Hmm, I'll think about it," she joked, "because I'm such a busy person and all. I'll try and squeeze you into my hectic schedule of Shakespeare and investigative murder cases."

"Ouch. Rejected for books."

"Hey, there are very important things that go on in my life besides books, including lounging around on my bed, taking long baths, occasionally eating. You can't interrupt the daily routine of my life." They looked at each other and laughed.

"Imagine my little's boy's devastation at the fact that you couldn't come because you were too busy eating." They're laughter spoke of joy and wonder, comfort and peace.

"Of course I'll come." She finally said.

He pulled her into an embrace, wrapping his arms around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. He tilted back onto the side of the car so that she comfortably leaned on him. The scent of him completely surrounded her as she encircled her arms around him and sighed contently. She could fall asleep right there, listening to the slow beat of his heart. If it hadn't been for the light kiss he planted on the top of her head, she would've done just that. Instead, she closed her eyes to revel in the feeling, making it last as long as possible, stretching it.

Time flew on the way back. He held onto her hand throughout the entire ride, talking quietly to each other of nonsense things.

Stopping before her house, Sasuke immediately went to open her door for her, momentarily releasing their soothing tangle of fingers. But as she stepped out uttering a gracious 'thank you', he slid his arm around her waist, making for the front steps.

On the way, she discovered that Ino's car had disappeared yet the porch light shone brightly.

No she didn't…she thought maliciously. She scanned the rest of the block thinking she might've skipped over her car. It was nowhere in sight. She scoffed knowingly with a shake of her head, a curve creeping onto her lips. Ino, you little…

"What?" He looked down at her oddly.

"Nothing, it's nothing." She actually left, just like she said she would.

They halted under the gleam of the porch light as she stuck her keys into the lock, hearing the satisfying click of an open door. Turning, Sakura made to thank him for the wonderful night but her words cut short in her throat.

There it was again, very much like at the park. That instant where everything stood still, where with one look in his eyes, she was immediately trapped under his spell. He wasn't very close, neither was he touching her. In fact, his hands were now in his pockets. But she knew at that moment under the beautiful night sky, with memories of the day reeling through her mind like a film, that if he happened to be touching her or happened to be closer, she would've given in, completely.

"Sasuke, wait." She shot her hand up to his chest to stop his approach. She gulped as she took her hand away like she had just been shocked – a quick retraction of a touch that had her nervous and jittery.

He stood silent, not saying a word, not changing his dazzling features for a second as if he knew her thoughts, knew what she was going to say.

"You know what'll happen if you kiss me now." He stepped a tad bit closer, leaving marginal room between them, never looking away. The trance was impossible to break. "And you know that neither of us will be able to take it back." Her voice grew quieter and quieter as the seconds passed. Again she felt trapped between him and the hard surface behind her. Déjà vu. "Once you start, there's no going back. If we do this, there won't be time to stop and think. If this is it, this is it." she swallowed shakily.

Silence ensued as they stood barely breathing. Sakura could hear her heart pounded rapidly in her ears. She was nervous, excited, scared. Too many emotions filled her and she didn't know what to do with them.

His voice was almost inaudible as he spoke. "We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. Right now, it's just you and me."

He closed the thin gap with a smooth simple kiss.

With a light tick, he pushed the door open, stepping in with her as she lazily slid her hands up his chest, holding the sides of his face gingerly. Just as easily and quietly as it opened, the door slipped shut and Sasuke turned the lock.

The thud of the lock falling into place triggered something in Sasuke that had him increasing the speed and intensity of their once tentative kiss. His tongue found hers and he felt her muss up his hair with her delicate fingers. He loved it when she did that. He continued to move them both towards the base of the stairs, but found himself pushing her up against the wall as he continued to devour her mouth. He hands wandered and travelled carelessly but recklessly all over her luscious body.

Again, she was swept into a mind-blowing battle of lips and tongue, but this time she wasn't going to be left at the mercy of his touch. This time, she would be with him, beat for beat. To prove her point, she deliberately bumped her hips against his. Hearing his growl, she smirked under his mouth. Two can play this game She unbuttoned his shirt with hurried hands before she ran them over the perfectly sculpted chest and stomach. The way he became rigid encouraged her to continue. She slithered her hands over his shoulders seductively to push both the jacket and the shirt off, which he quickly helped with as he shook off the sleeves.

Now left shirtless in his handsome glory, Sakura snaked her hands all around him, feeling everything. "Mmm, nice." She mumbled on his lips. She pushed her body onto his bare chest and heard him rumble his voice incoherently.

He dragged his fingers up her legs until they explored just under the skirt of the dress, caressing her thighs as he quickly lifted her up, feeling her long slender legs wrap securely around his waist. The yelp she uttered from surprise was drowned by the moan she let out when his roaming hands massaged her thighs. The tightening and loosening of her legs had him pushing her back into the wall with pure need.

She grunted, feeling her back crash onto the hard plain, but the act itself was arousing, thrilling. He took her breasts in each hand and kneaded gently, feeling her out, listening for a reaction. She moaned his name as she breathed, throwing her head up and shutting her eyes in pleasure. Gripping onto his shoulders, she rode out the sensation, subconsciously wiggling between him and the wall.

Taking her mouth with his once more, he let her lips travel to his jawline and down his neck. He took this opportunity to carry her up the stairs and try and find her bedroom. His adrenaline rushed through his veins as he continued to climb. He practically could've gone two at a time if it weren't for Sakura messing up with his concentration. As he hit the top landing, he groaned and staggered a little as she lightly bit his ear. "Shit." He felt his body stiffen again and the strain in his pants was driving him crazy, insane. She laughed softly as she continued to nibble lightly down to the column of his throat.

He swallowed and spoke with a shaky breath. "Bedroom, where—" he grunted, fighting to remain standing as Sakura wiggled in his hold, grazing him ever so slightly. Squeezing his waist with her legs again had his mind exploding. "Damnit."

"You okay there, big boy?" she taunted.

He spotted the neatly made bed through the wide open door and sped for it. She let out yet another laugh as she felt herself dropped with a bounce on her mattress, him following close afterwards, but she choked out the last bits of laughter as he slid his hands all the way under her dress to her stomach. He knew there must've been a tie that had to be unknotted somewhere or a zipper to be unzipped but threw the thought away. He resorted to pulling the whole thing over her head instead. Much faster.

Sensation was all they floated on. From every touch to every kiss, they submerged themselves in pleasure. There was no time to think, just do. There was only time to try and keep up with each other. Moments blurred into one, the pain of scraping and scratching all meshed by the overpowering bliss.

By now, the trim covers of the bed were flung into distorted crumples and the pillows were pushed aside into confused piles as they tumbled on the bed. She had skilfully flipped them over so she straddled his waist. The clip that held her hair up fell off somewhere along the way, leaving her tumbles of hair to draped over his face as she ravaged his mouth, all the while deftly undoing his pants. He could smell her, feel her presence totally surround him and he was lost. But his mind blanked white when she skimmed his very sensitive area lightly with her backside. His gritted teeth served to muffle his cry. She kissed down his chest, feeling it tremble under her lips, his rapid heart rate spiking faster and faster still. Continuing her experimentation, she grazed him again and he frantically gripped her hips with unsteady hands, thinking if she did it again he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Kicking the rest of his pants off in earnest, it was his turn to flip them over. Out of breath, he looked down at her in all her beauty. The dim light from the moonlight just outside the window was very cliché, in his opinion, but to hell with it. Her magical green eyes were glazed with pleasure, her lips curved languidly in a dazed smile and her body gleamed in the pale light.

It only took those few moments for him to remember the promise he made to her under the trees of the city park. And he always kept his promises.

When he lowered to kiss her again, she expected the same heat and hurried pace they had before the pause. She searched for it, longed for it. But instead she found that he moved gently and carefully but with conviction and passion, as always. Her mind was in question, what's happening? But as she felt him gently caress her body with his hands and kiss her lips ever so softly, she felt her arms lazily wrap around his neck in forgotten bliss, pulling him closer for more.

Inch by inch, he explored her with kisses and touches, never missing a spot. The fire in her belly continued to simmer and grow with each passing moment. The way he handled her made her…_feel._ She felt cherished. She felt fragile and delicate. She felt strong and able. She just _felt_. And it was dizzying – she loved every minute of it.

She gasped as he began his slow torturous thrusts, the pace agonizing. He covered her mouth with his as he massaged her breasts in the same tormenting manner, arousing her even more. She tried to stay with him, to hang on with him in the tantalizing tempo, build together, but it was impossible. Even at such speeds he still managed to have her writhing under him, breathing in short gasps.

Skin to skin, the thin sheen of sweat that enveloped them both made them glimmer in a sea of sheets. She could feel the pressure building, growing. The pleasure was unimaginable. She rocked against him, trying to find that release, trying to find that peak. When she reached her limit, she broke their kiss to utter a loud moan, falling over the edge of blinding white. But it wasn't the only time. Each time she'd cry out and rose over the top, he'd struggle to keep going, fought to maintain his control. Each time, he'd go faster and faster, his mind and body triggered by her cries of ecstasy.

He continued to thrust as he pleasured her further, completely embracing her now as she clung to him desperately. Her body quaked with each plunge, felt herself rising again…and then again. She'd throw her head back again and again. She'd screamed and quivered again and again.

She had lost her mind with sheer pleasure and thought it would never end until she felt his thrusts become jerky and his body harden. Soon after, she heard his low grunt and he collapsed on top of her. Struggled for air, they lay as they did, his weight on her not a pain but a comfort, her clinging arms sliding off his body as she lay sprawled in heavenly bliss.

He lifted himself glancing at the bedside clock, then took a look at her contented smile. As he kissed her, he felt her sigh."Hi." He whispered.

"Hi." She smiled and moved stray sweaty strands of his messy hair away from his eyes.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"Hmm? What about Koji?"

He smirked. "Oh, he knows he's having a sleepover at his uncle Naruto's today. He was pretty excited about it actually."

She slapped his back, which had him laughing out an 'ow'. "Jerk, you planned this."

"Not entirely, but I like to take credit for the perfect execution."

"I should be mad at you." She smiled, nudging his head to the side with a quick push of her hand.

"You should be." He whispered with a grin as he moved to kiss a trail down to her breasts.

"Wha—" But she was cut off as her breath caught in a gasp. Taking one rosy tip into his mouth, she writhed against him once again, stirring new sensations in her. The other was taken care of by his free hand, pinching, tugging, squeezing. "You can't be—" her breath hitched, her hands shot to his head, "—serious?

"Don't you just love sleepovers?" he asked as he shifted to the other, giving it equal attention. She was completely wasted under his touch. So much for beat for beat.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she arched under him. "Absolutely."

* * *

**Preview Chapter 7:**

The phone rang.

Absent-mindedly, Sasuke reached for the cordless he put next to him during movie nights for such situations and clicked it on.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke, please don't hang—" There was a loud click off.

"I really wish I'd paid that extra for the caller ID." He said to himself, refusing to let it get to him as he sat back and continued to watch.

Moments later, it rang again.

"Hello?"

"It's important. Don't you dare turn the phon—" Again, he hung up.

After a few minutes, he thought she'd given up.

Then it rang again. Guess not.

* * *

**A/N: there you have it. So considering it's my first fanfic, i would call that my first attempt at my version of a lemon for this story. Of course, practice makes perfect. x3 Please review and hope you liked it! I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks until mid december perhaps, but i'll try and sneak in writing sessions, at least write a few paragraphs, if not lines, a day, just for you guys. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Only In Books**_

**Chapter 7**

The sun had risen, high in the sky, the morning light faded into the noon day sun. It shone on the couple through the crack of the poorly closed curtains. They lay contented, each with a shadow of a smile floating across their faces. With her head resting heavily on the curve of his shoulder and her legs entangled through his, they breathed deeply in a soft slumber.

With a flutter of groggy eyelids, Sakura woke in a dreamlike state. The misty fog of her imaginings dispersed into what she now saw – or rather felt – as the rise and fall of Sasuke's bare chest. Lifting her head lightly, she looked around, automatically out the window, to see the sun beaming down on the land from its tall perch in the cerulean sky.

Checking her bedside clock, it read eleven minutes past twelve. Uncharacteristically later than her usual wake up time, but she couldn't care less.

Carefully resting her head back down in its place, she sighed as she snuggled closer to Sasuke's warmth. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt, she thought. It's already past midday, why rush?

She absently traced patterns onto his chest with her fingers. She didn't know what time they had finally gotten to sleep nor did she bother figuring out. It wasn't important. Blushing at the memory of their heated night, she recalled Sasuke being very good. No, more than just _good_…he was _amazing_. He had just made the word 'sex' a word that would have tingles run up her spine at the mere thought of it. Incredibly impacting.

A few moments later, in the dead silence of the room – minus Sasuke's even breathing – she heard her stomach give a soft growl of hunger. It was reasonable, she figured, considering she had totally skipped out on breakfast to snuggle up with a sexy man in bed. Who could blame her?

With a defeated sigh, she opted to manoeuvre her way through tangled limbs using the good old slow and steady method. Gently, she shuffled her legs until they broke free from under his, warily moving his hand from her waist and pushing the covers down with the greatest of care. So far so good.

She cautiously turned to get out when suddenly she felt a warm hand slide across her slim waist and rub over her taught stomach. That same arm pulled her back towards his chest so that now his breath lingered on the nape of her neck. He wiggled a little, finding the right comfort zone right before he stopped, his breath becoming regular once more.

"Sasuke," she said, laying a hand on the one that rested on her tummy, "I need to get up." She turned in his arms to face him and his radiating calm and relaxed appearance. Eyelids lazily opened to reveal solid dark eyes.

Without warning, he pushed forward to kiss her mouth for a brief second. God, she was beautiful.

"No, you don't." His hand circled her back indolently, slowly, casually.

"Yes, I do. It's past twelve. We can't stay here all day." She gasped as he rolled over on top of her with a sly glint in his eye, a grin forming.

"That's debatable."

* * *

Naruto trudged up to the doors of Libellus with a shrug in his walk from the morning chill. The thin summer shirt he wore was intended for the heated weather they were to have later that day, but apparently he hadn't thought of the usual cool mornings.

His spiked blonde hair swayed gently as he sped unsteadily, vision blurred from lack of sleep, for warmth.

With the tinkle of bells, Naruto shook the unpleasantly cold sensation, making room for the always wonderful smell of freshly brewed coffee, embracing the warmness that was always offered in the small store.

"Morning, Naruto." Ino called from high atop a ladder by a tall shelf of books near the entrance.

"Mornin'. I'm just going straight in there to grab some coffee." Normally, he wasn't a very early morning type of guy, but that day, Ino had asked him to deliver a few books downtown. And since she knew he worked down there anyway, she figured he could just take it instead of making the round trip herself. The only thing she failed to acknowledge was that he didn't start till the afternoon and that delivery had to be made that morning. Hence the frozen and tired state of being.

"Yeah, knock yourself out." She stepped up a rung to fix the disorderly set of novels.

As he made his way behind the counter, he spotted Sakura moping down the top of the coffee counters with a rag. She was bobbing her untidily tied-up mass of pink hair to an obviously catchy song plugged into her ears. The wires to her headphones swung lightly as she continued to clean, completely oblivious to his presence.

She had a glow about her, he thought as he snuck quietly around her to make his coffee. Scooting from the pile of cups to the coffee maker, she went on about her work, not noticing a single thing. She slowly began to work the music into her body and started to sway.

Taking a generous amount of coffee, Naruto slipped in two scoops of sugar. He turned, drank.

He observed her. Not only was it because she was dancing while on task but there was something about her, something different. He'd had a good look at her at the carnival and she was a stunning woman, he was sure of that. However, looking at her now, there was a different factor to her beauty. Like a glow, he figured. A radiance that he'd never seen or perhaps never noticed. But for sure, she was glowing now before him, dancing in the morning light with nothing but a loose shirt, hip-hugging jeans and an apron.

"Oh, hi." Feeling eyes on her, she looked to find the man she met at the park. Naruto if she remembered correctly. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. "I didn't see you. How are you?" Out of courtesy, she pulled one earphone out.

"I'm good. How are you?" He saw her smile above the rim of his cup as he took another careful sip of his blazingly sweet coffee. Nothing like a shot of caffeine, sugar and a beautiful girl's smile to get the system going.

"I'm great, thanks. Although, I'm having a hard time thinking about what to get Koji for his birthday this week. Any tips, _uncle_ Naruto?"

"Oh, right. It's little man's birthday this Thursday. Well, whatta ya know. I've gotta go present hunting for him too. Thanks for the reminder." He lifted his cup in thanks before blowing and sipping once more. "To be honest, that kid'll take anything you give him. He's got a wide range of interests for such a little boy. Though," he continued, "I think he's more into things with wheels, things that move."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Going over to the sink, she rinsed the rag she held. "Little man?"

"That's what I call him. A nickname me and Sasuke came up with when he was about two, considering his short stature and all. It was kinda cute at the time. I guess it just stuck." Chuckling, he leaned onto the counter and nursed the coffee in between his hands, revelling in the warmth. "So, how was the date?"

"What?"

"The date. You and Sasuke? Just over the weekend?" She gave a look of confusion. How would he know? "Oh, right. I'm his best friend. Don't worry, I don't creep around figuring out who dates who around here. I'm more of the type to come and steal coffee now and again. It's fun, you should try it."

"Ah," she nodded knowingly, "Uncle. Right. That would explain that. And I do take coffee, and for the record, it is fun."

"Agreed." He stood, bringing the cup towards his mouth. "But anyway, back to point one. You know you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I mean it is kind of weird. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."

But she didn't find it weird, she couldn't. In fact, she was far too happy to feel any awkwardness at all. Besides, he seemed like a kind enough guy. He always has.

She busied her hands by taking a cup for herself, undergoing the makings of her own drink. "It was nice." She answered curtly, but with her answer came the drifting curve of the lip that indicated way more than just 'nice'.

And Naruto caught it. "Nice?" He smirked into the rim as he lifted his cup.

"Fantastic." She said this time.

"Fantastic?"

She turned. "Wonderful, amazing, incredible, what else can I say?" She questioned with a laugh. By now, her lips spread wide, her face bright with dreamy awe. "It was perfect. Like those days you wish you could take out of your life and loop over and over again. The flowers were a nice touch. Don't laugh." She pointed at him with stern humour. "I know I sound like a school girl. I feel like a school girl. So don't rub it in."

"You don't sound like a school girl." He snorted. "More like a teenager. Maybe around senior year. You know, all the big words. The twinkle in the eye thing was a definite school girl thing though, I've gotta say." He earned himself a smack in the arm, but she giggled nonetheless. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He put his hands up in defence. "In fact, that sounds sweet. What?" He dodged the swing at his arm again. "I was being honest!"

"Guys don't say sweet when they're being serious."

"We can say sweet when we're being honest."

"No, well _you_ can't. It just doesn't seem genuine when you say it." And she smacked him again.

They laughed. Sakura thought he was very charming. His second impression was very much the same as his first in that he was funny, cute and delightful to be around. His joking manner was contagious and when he walked into a room, the place lit up and the mood always lifted. It was a special gift, she thought, one that he carried very well.

"Naruto! Package!" Ino's far cry from the ladder she stood upon echoed throughout the store, bouncing off walls and shelves to reach Naruto's ear.

"That's my cue." He took a lid and expertly fit it onto his cup. "I'll see you Thursday, yeah?"

"Right. I'll see you there. And thanks for the tip."

Displaying his broad trademark grin that had women melt at his feet, he nodded his head. "My pleasure." Cute, she thought.

"Naruto! Any day now!" Again, Ino's voice reverberated around the shop.

"I've gotta go." And he was off.

Sakura, whose own grin remained plastered on her face, shook her head and waved goodbye as he sped out the door with the small package tucked under his arm.

* * *

Lying, stomach flat with an arm propped up holding his head, Koji lazy picked at the carpet, boredom taking it's toll on his four year old system.

Four and three quarters, he liked to remind himself. He was old enough to know when his birthday was, which he knew quite well was that coming Thursday. The anticipation was agonizing. Summer always brought the possibility of yet another big birthday party, one that he really looked forward to every year. He was thinking of all the presents and his friends coming over to play. His uncle Naruto often brought lots of sweets and for the past couple of birthdays, he gave in to bringing his game system for a few hours. That was his favourite part. Although, right then, even video games couldn't bring up his mood.

Just like most work days, he had to wait at his uncle Naruto's for his father to come back home. Not able to tell the time yet, he opted to asking his uncle when he felt time take a deliberate stop in his world. All he ever got was "He'll be here soon, bud" or "Don't worry, why don't we play something?"

At the moment, Naruto sat with his legs folded under him right next to the Koji, highly concentrated in his current game. The rapid clicking and pushing of buttons resonated through the living room. There was a constant dripping in the kitchen sink that he figured was because of the broken faucet that had yet to be fixed. He could hear everything. Ah, the sounds of dullness.

"Uncle Naruto," he tugged on his shirt for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah." His game continued.

"Is daddy almost here?"

"Yeah. He'll be here soon, bud." He knew that was coming.

"But that's what you said last time."

"He won't be long. Gah! No! Are you kidding me?" Koji heard the customary sounds of defeat coming from the television. And of course, the usual rant that followed was just as expected as the angry waving of the arms. Koji sighed.

The doorbell rang.

"Yay! Daddy's here!" He shot from the floor like a spring and ran excitedly for the front door. Just like in his own home, he wasn't allowed to open the door without someone's permission. He anxiously waited by the door. "Uncle Naruto! The door!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He was at the door in seconds, watching Koji trot on the spot like he had to go to the bathroom really badly. Laughing, he opened the door.

"Hey, guys." Sasuke stood with his shirt folded at the cuffs to the elbows, his tie loose and his briefcase hanging from one hand at his side. He looked exhausted, but his face told differently. Underneath the fatigue, he was happy.

Koji circled his arms around his father's leg with a bright smile. "Daddy! I was _so_ bored! Why did you take so long?"

"I just had to run late at work today, bud. I had too many things to do. But I'm here now. And I'm ready to hunt for something in the kitchen before we leave. I'm starving. By the smell of it in here," he sniffed the air, "I take it you guys had mac and cheese?" Koji nodded. "Mmm, sounds good to me."

"Yeah, just on the stove." Naruto closed the door behind him.

"You," Sasuke said with a heave as he picked up his son, "are getting heavy. Is that all you guys eat here?"

"Yup." Koji hung onto his father's neck as they made their way into the kitchen.

"That's why you're getting fat." With a poke in the stomach, the boy giggled. "And you too." He nodded towards Naruto.

"Me? Fat? Give me a break. These abs of steel are going nowhere any time soon." Naruto couldn't help but notice how happy he was. All smiles, jokes, carefree. What the hell happened on that date?

"You're the only one who would call rolls of fat abs of steel." Placing Koji on the counter, he went on the hunt for a bowl and some silverware.

"Fat. Fat." Koji began to chant as he waited, swinging his legs over the edge of the counter, giggling when catching wind of his uncle's glare.

"You little…" Dashing behind Sasuke's back, Naruto grabbed the boy and hung him over his shoulder as the boy flailed, resisting the onslaught of tickles.

"No, no! Down! Stop!" He laughed and laughed, nearly bashed in the blonde's nose with his thrashing knee.

"Whoa hey, watch the face, little man."

"Hey! You two, take it in the living room. Geez." But with a delighted scoop of his mac and cheese, Sasuke leaned and watched his son and best friend go at it, fighting to make it onto softer ground. He took a small breath and relished in the rare free feeling. Everything was brighter. The food tasted better. Even work didn't seem to bother him as much anymore. Albeit tiring, but much more tolerable.

Pouring himself a glass of water to take with him, he walked into the both of them now fighting for game controllers, each wanting first player. He chuckled as he saw his son stand, just an inch taller than his sitting uncle, and jut his elbows out, arms crossed, giving him a stern angry look that was frankly quite adorable.

"Okay, fine. You can have first player." Naruto grumbled, giving up the controller to a very satisfied Koji. "I liked second player anyway." He narrowed his eyes at his controller.

"Was that _my_ son manhandling the_ man_? What ever happened to being the boss, Naruto?" His shocking blue eyes glared as he stuck up the finger sourly at the cheerful Sasuke, making sure Koji couldn't see. Laughing to himself, he called out to his son. "Hey, bud."

"Hmm?" Turning, he saw his father take a seat next to him on the floor, sticking his hand out for a hi-five.

"That's my boy." With his bowl in hand and glass at his feet, Sasuke watched contently as he ate.

After a moment of game induced silence, Naruto spoke. "How was the date?"

"Good." The familiar curve of the mouth that disclosed more than was supposedly intended played across his face. Just like Sakura.

"What? That's it? God, you guys are vague."

"You guys?"

"You and Sakura, duh."

"When did you see her? You talked to her? She was vague?" Suddenly, the conversation drew his interest.

"This morning. I was making a delivery run for Ino in exchange for some free coffee. She was there, working as usual. We talked for a bit and all she said was it was nice." He lay his controller down.

"Oh." Sasuke's interested tone lowered.

"Yeah, but you see, she had this look on her face that said more but obviously she wasn't going to say anything to me. That was like, what, the second time's she's met me? Now with you, you had the same exact face but you're not going to tell me either, which makes me curious."

"Oh." This time, his voice reflected understanding. "You're right, I'm not going to tell you. That's between me and her. And you'll never know. But good call."

Grumbling, Naruto went back to his game. "Perfect."

Koji looked up at the adults on either side of him; one in misery, one grinning broadly. Adults were so weird sometimes.

* * *

"Koji, put in the movie. I'll be down in a sec." Sasuke yelled from the second floor of his house.

After coming home from Naruto's, Sasuke thought it would be a good idea to just sit back and relax for a night. Koji was all for a movie night so, right as they got in, Sasuke put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and sped upstairs to change. At the moment, he was pulling on some comfortable grey sweats and his navy shirt, checking over his emails from work and got some left over paperwork out of the way.

With a quick sniff, he got a whiff of a strong burning stench. "Oh, shit! Popcorn."

Down the stairs, the smell strengthened. He ran into the kitchen and opened the microwave, fanned the stink away. "Whoops."

"Daddy. Come on, let's watch!"

"Yeah, I'll be right there, bud." He looked down at the bag of semi-burnt buttery goodness. "Great."

Just as he came into the living room with the bowl of popcorn and a glass of juice, he walked in on Koji sitting on the coach with the remote pointed at the screen. He knew the basic functions of the remote – play, stop, pause, menu. It was simple enough, he figured, for a four year old to get.

"Come on! It's starting!"

They both sat comfortably. Sasuke sunk into the corner, resting his back on the nook that joined the arm and back of the couch, slunk his leg along the length of it with Koji sitting snugly in the space left between the back of the couch and his father's body. The popcorn lay on Sasuke's lap, both taking handfuls at a time. They ate popcorn just about the same. Anyone watching in would find Koji a splitting image of his father in the way that he carefully scoops up popcorn and pops them two by two into his mouth, ending with a satisfied crunching and chewing.

The phone rang.

Absent-mindedly, Sasuke reached for the cordless he put next to him during movie nights and clicked it on.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke, please don't hang—" There was a loud click off.

"I really wish I'd paid that extra for the caller ID." He said to himself, refusing to let it get to him as he sat back and continued to watch.

Moments later, it rang again.

"Hello?"

"It's important. Don't you dare turn the phon—" Again, he hung up.

After a few minutes, he thought she'd given up.

Then it rang again. Guess not.

"Look, I don't want you calling here anymore, mom. I don't understand why you're calling but this has to stop." He kept his voice low as to not arouse any suspicion in his son.

"Sasuke, dear. I'm your mother. It shouldn't be wrong for me to call you."

"Well, it's been wrong since the day you decided to throw me out of my own house."

"Your father and I thought it was best to—"

"Right. You always knew what was best for me. But what about Mich? You threw her out and treated her like dirt. Didn't it ever occur to you that I loved her? Actually loved her? She was pregnant for goodness sake!"

"Michiko was not—"

"Don't you even think about bad mouthing her. It's been four years mom, almost five. We've gone on with our lives. We've been doing just fine without you," Sasuke sat up carefully and kept his voice dangerously quiet. "We don't need you, brother or dad. Even without Mich we're holding up. So leave us alone, yeah? We don't need this."

"No, this is not about Michiko, this is about your father. He's—"

"I don't want to hear it." Hopefully, it was the last time he would have to hang up. Koji looked at him curiously. Sasuke shook his head and gestured toward the screen. "Sorry, watch the movie."

Right when it rung, Sasuke literally thought he was going to shoot something.

"Bud, hold on. Daddy's just going to go get something. I'll be right back. It'll take two seconds, tops."

"Awe, okay." Koji visibly shrugged at the loss of the comfort his father's body provided. But nonetheless, he was drawn back into the movie, unrelentingly eating his popcorn two by two.

The endless ringing was driving Sasuke insane. "Where is that damn phone dock…there!" Immediately, he followed the cord to the plug in the wall and yanked it out. The ringing stopped. Silence, save for the television. "Thank goodness." He sighed.

Sasuke made his way back to the couch, first making sure all of the phones were unplugged, and resumed his position with his son plastered onto his torso.

Soon, he thought, Koji was going to fall asleep. Soon, he'd have to carry him back up to bed and would have to get ready for bed himself. But for now, he'd lie with his son. That's what he'll do. Share laughs, share food, share the love he had never had growing up.

* * *

**Preview Chapter 8:**

"Hey! Hana, how are you?" He swooped down and gave her a quick warm hug. "I see you two have gotten acquainted."

"You never told me you had a sweetheart, you naughty boy. I clearly remember you saying you loved me just yesterday, you two timing cheat."

* * *

**A/N: There you have it. Definitely not worth a whole month's wait but you guys deserved an update for sure x3. Lately i've been exhausted and my brain just isn't functioning so if some of my chapters sound like long ass drabbles, that's my fault lol. So it's safe to say that some of these may just be long ass drabbles but it's Sasuke and Sakura, how can you ever go wrong with them? Reviews please and thanks you! And enjoy.  
**


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